Nonstop flight route between Miyakojima, Okinawa, Japan and Shemya, Alaska, United States:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Miyako Airport (MMY), Miyakojima, Okinawa, Japan and Eareckson Air Station (SYA), Shemya, Alaska, United States would travel a Great Circle distance of 3,173 miles (or 5,106 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 Miyako 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 Miyako 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 Miyako Airport (MMY):

• Miyako Airport (MMY) currently has only 1 runway.
• In addition to being known as "Miyako Airport", other names for MMY include "宮古空港" and "Miyako Kūkō".
• The closest airport to Miyako Airport (MMY) is Shimojishima Airport (SHI), which is located only 10 miles (16 kilometers) WNW of MMY.
• The furthest airport from Miyako Airport (MMY) is Guaraní International Airport (AGT), which is nearly antipodal to Miyako Airport (meaning Miyako Airport is almost on the exact opposite side of the Earth from Guaraní International Airport), and is located 12,390 miles (19,939 kilometers) away in Ciudad del Este, Paraguay.
• Because of Miyako Airport's relatively low elevation of 140 feet, planes can take off or land at Miyako 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):

• On 6 April 1993, Shemya Air Force Base was renamed Eareckson Air Station.
• 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.
• 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 closest airport to Eareckson Air Station (SYA) is Casco Cove Coast Guard Station (ATU), which is located 40 miles (65 kilometers) WNW of SYA.
• 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.
• There is also an NDB, TACAN and a VOR on the island.
• The spring of 1944 brought improving weather and the B-24s and PV-1s to fly more missions over the Kuriles.
• 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.
• 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.