Nonstop flight route between Lázaro Cárdenas, Michoacán, Mexico and Shemya, Alaska, United States:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Lázaro Cárdenas Airport (LZC), Lázaro Cárdenas, Michoacán, Mexico and Eareckson Air Station (SYA), Shemya, Alaska, United States would travel a Great Circle distance of 4,973 miles (or 8,003 kilometers).

A Great Circle is the shortest distance between 2 points on a sphere. Because most world maps are flat (but the Earth is round), the route of the shortest distance between 2 points on the Earth will often appear curved when viewed on a flat map, especially for long distances. If you were to simply draw a straight line on a flat map and measure a very long distance, it would likely be much further than if you were to lay a string between those two points on a globe. Because of the large distance between Lázaro Cárdenas Airport and Eareckson Air Station, the route shown on this map most likely appears curved because of this reason.

Try it at home! Get a globe and tightly lay a string between Lázaro Cárdenas Airport and Eareckson Air Station. You'll see that it will travel the same route of the red line on this map!

Departure Airport Information:

Arrival Airport Information:

Facts about Lázaro Cárdenas Airport (LZC):

• Lázaro Cárdenas Airport (LZC) currently has only 1 runway.
• The closest airport to Lázaro Cárdenas Airport (LZC) is Ixtapa-Zihuatanejo International Airport (ZIH), which is located 57 miles (92 kilometers) ESE of LZC.
• The furthest airport from Lázaro Cárdenas Airport (LZC) is Sir Gaëtan Duval Airport (RRG), which is located 11,487 miles (18,486 kilometers) away in Rodrigues Island, Mauritius.
• Because of Lázaro Cárdenas Airport's relatively low elevation of 39 feet, planes can take off or land at Lázaro Cárdenas Airport at a lower air speed than at airports located at a higher elevation. This is because the air density is higher closer to sea level than it would otherwise be at higher elevations.

Facts about Eareckson Air Station (SYA):

• Shemya also continued to support the Great Circle Route for MATS and later Military Airlift Command transports between Japan and Elmendorf AFB.
• The aerial photos taken on the raid showed the Japanese were building up forces in the area, transferring aircraft presumably from air bases on Hokkaido.
• In addition to being known as "Eareckson Air Station", other names for SYA include "Shemya Air Force Base", "Shemya Army Airfield" and "  ".
• A second attack by B-24 Liberators was launched from Alexai Point and Shemya on 18 July.
• The base host squadron was re-designated the 5073rd Air Base Squadron on October 1962, and upgraded to a group on 15 October 1974 in recognition of the number and complexities of the tenant units it supported.
• Because of Eareckson Air Station's relatively low elevation of 97 feet, planes can take off or land at Eareckson Air Station at a lower air speed than at airports located at a higher elevation. This is because the air density is higher closer to sea level than it would otherwise be at higher elevations.
• In 1958, the Air Force resumed operations on Shemya in support of various Air Force and Army strategic intelligence collection activities.
• The closest airport to Eareckson Air Station (SYA) is Casco Cove Coast Guard Station (ATU), which is located 40 miles (65 kilometers) WNW of SYA.
• With the exception of a small station housekeeping unit, Shemya was abandoned after the war.
• On 28 May 1943, a small detachment of Alaskan Scouts began reconnaissance of Shemya, a small, flat, uninhabited island 35 miles to the east of Attu.
• Eareckson Air Station (SYA) currently has only 1 runway.
• The furthest airport from Eareckson Air Station (SYA) is Cape Town International Airport (CPT), which is located 10,668 miles (17,168 kilometers) away in Cape Town, South Africa.