Nonstop flight route between Mayagüez, Puerto Rico and Shemya, Alaska, United States:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Eugenio María de Hostos Airport (MAZ), Mayagüez, Puerto Rico and Eareckson Air Station (SYA), Shemya, Alaska, United States would travel a Great Circle distance of 6,327 miles (or 10,182 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 Eugenio María de Hostos 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 Eugenio María de Hostos 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 Eugenio María de Hostos Airport (MAZ):

• Eugenio María de Hostos Airport handled 12,568 passengers last year.
• The closest airport to Eugenio María de Hostos Airport (MAZ) is Rafael Hernández Airport (BQN), which is located only 17 miles (27 kilometers) N of MAZ.
• Eugenio María de Hostos Airport covers an area of 172 acres at an elevation of 28 feet above mean sea level.
• Eugenio María de Hostos Airport (MAZ) currently has only 1 runway.
• Although the airport has always been a turbo-prop aircraft airport, Pan Am announced, in 2002, intentions to install jet flights between Mayagüez and Las Américas International Airport in Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic, with Boeing 727s.
• Because of Eugenio María de Hostos Airport's relatively low elevation of 28 feet, planes can take off or land at Eugenio María de Hostos 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.
• Eugenio María de Hostos Airport used to be the main air gateway to the western region of Puerto Rico, until Rafael Hernández Airport in Aguadilla took over that position.
• The furthest airport from Eugenio María de Hostos Airport (MAZ) is Barrow Island Airport (BWB), which is nearly antipodal to Eugenio María de Hostos Airport (meaning Eugenio María de Hostos Airport is almost on the exact opposite side of the Earth from Barrow Island Airport), and is located 12,192 miles (19,620 kilometers) away in Barrow Island, Western Australia, Australia.

Facts about Eareckson Air Station (SYA):

• 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.
• After the disastrous attack, the focus of Eleventh Air Force was shifted to a defensive posture in the event of retaliatory attacks from the Japanese.
• 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.
• In addition to being known as "Eareckson Air Station", other names for SYA include "Shemya Air Force Base", "Shemya Army Airfield" and "  ".
• 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.
• 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.
• Eareckson Air Station (SYA) currently has only 1 runway.
• With the exception of a small station housekeeping unit, Shemya was abandoned after the war.
• In August, after the Soviet Union declared war against the Japanese Empire, B-24s were dispatched on reconnaissance and intelligence-gathering missions to observe the Russian activity in the Kuriles.
• Jurisdiction of Shemya AFB was transferred from the Aerospace Defense Command to the Strategic Air Command when the former was inactivated on 1 October 1979.
• The mission of Eleventh Air Force was to take advantage of the new airfields on Shemya and Attu, and carry out offensive operations against the enemy forces in the Kuriles.