Nonstop flight route between Mason City, Iowa, United States and Shemya, Alaska, United States:
Departure Airport:

Arrival Airport:

Distance from MCW to SYA:
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- About this route
- MCW Airport Information
- SYA Airport Information
- Facts about MCW
- Facts about SYA
- Map of Nearest Airports to MCW
- List of Nearest Airports to MCW
- Map of Furthest Airports from MCW
- List of Furthest Airports from MCW
- Map of Nearest Airports to SYA
- List of Nearest Airports to SYA
- Map of Furthest Airports from SYA
- List of Furthest Airports from SYA
About this route:
A direct, nonstop flight between Mason City Municipal Airport (MCW), Mason City, Iowa, United States and Eareckson Air Station (SYA), Shemya, Alaska, United States would travel a Great Circle distance of 4,033 miles (or 6,490 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 Mason City Municipal 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 Mason City Municipal 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:
IATA / ICAO Codes: | MCW / KMCW |
Airport Name: | Mason City Municipal Airport |
Location: | Mason City, Iowa, United States |
GPS Coordinates: | 43°9'28"N by 93°19'51"W |
Area Served: | Mason City, Iowa |
Operator/Owner: | City of Mason City |
Airport Type: | Public |
Elevation: | 1214 feet (370 meters) |
# of Runways: | 2 |
View all routes: | Routes from MCW |
More Information: | MCW Maps & Info |
Arrival Airport Information:
IATA / ICAO Codes: | SYA / PASY |
Airport Names: |
|
Location: | Shemya, Alaska, United States |
GPS Coordinates: | 52°42'43"N by 174°6'48"E |
Operator/Owner: | U.S. Air Force |
Airport Type: | Military |
Elevation: | 97 feet (30 meters) |
# of Runways: | 1 |
View all routes: | Routes from SYA |
More Information: | SYA Maps & Info |
Facts about Mason City Municipal Airport (MCW):
- The furthest airport from Mason City Municipal Airport (MCW) is Margaret River Airport (MGV), which is located 10,784 miles (17,354 kilometers) away in Margaret River, Western Australia, Australia.
- Mason City Municipal Airport is a city owned, public use airport located five nautical miles west of the central business district of Mason City, in Cerro Gordo County, Iowa, United States.
- Great Lakes Airlines previously served the airport without funding from the EAS program and the airline flew direct to Chicago O'Hare up until October 28, 1998.
- Mason City Municipal Airport (MCW) has 2 runways.
- Delta Connection formerly provided service from Mason City to Minneapolis/St.
- The closest airport to Mason City Municipal Airport (MCW) is Forest City Municipal Airport (FXY), which is located only 16 miles (25 kilometers) WNW of MCW.
- Mason City lost all commercial service following the pullout of Great Lakes Airlines on January 31, 2014.
Facts about Eareckson Air Station (SYA):
- 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 successful completion of the Aleutian Campaign in August 1943, Eleventh Air Force came within striking distance of the Japanese Kurile Islands, the northernmost being 750 miles to the south-southwest of Shemya.
- In addition to being known as "Eareckson Air Station", other names for SYA include "Shemya Air Force Base", "Shemya Army Airfield" and " ".
- Eareckson Air Station (SYA) currently has only 1 runway.
- The news of the surrender of the Japanese was met with enthusiasm, the biggest topic was "When do we go home?".
- In 1958, the Air Force resumed operations on Shemya in support of various Air Force and Army strategic intelligence collection activities.
- The 404th Bombardment Squadron flew B-24 Liberator heavy bombers along with one Beechcraft AT-7, which was used for navigator training.
- 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.
- Additional aircraft and personnel reductions occurred in 1945 and almost all air bases other than Alexi Point, Shemya and Davis in the Aleutians were reduced to caretaker status.
- 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 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.
- By August, Eleventh Air Force B-24s were carrying out successful and accurate attacks on the Japanese military installations and the B-25s were successful in driving the Japanese fishing and much of the shipping out of the North Pacific.
- 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.