Nonstop flight route between Marathon, Florida, United States and Shemya, Alaska, United States:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Florida Keys Marathon Airport (MTH), Marathon, Florida, United States and Eareckson Air Station (SYA), Shemya, Alaska, United States would travel a Great Circle distance of 5,454 miles (or 8,777 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 Florida Keys Marathon 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 Florida Keys Marathon 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 Florida Keys Marathon Airport (MTH):

• Florida Keys Marathon Airport (MTH) currently has only 1 runway.
• The furthest airport from Florida Keys Marathon Airport (MTH) is Cocos (Keeling) Island Airport (CCK), which is located 11,560 miles (18,603 kilometers) away in Cocos Islands, Australia.
• The closest airport to Florida Keys Marathon Airport (MTH) is NAS Key West (NQX), which is located 41 miles (67 kilometers) WSW of MTH.
• On October 4, 2008, Continental Airlines announced it would begin commercial service to Marathon Airport via a Cape Air codeshare to Southwest Florida International Airport in Fort Myers, with TSA security clearance to occur once on the ground in Fort Myers, if connecting to another flight.
• Because of Florida Keys Marathon Airport's relatively low elevation of 7 feet, planes can take off or land at Florida Keys Marathon 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.
• In mid summer of 2007, Delta announced it would end service to Marathon Airport due to low demand.
• The Florida Keys Marathon Airport is a public airport located along the Overseas Highway in Marathon, in Monroe County, Florida, United States.

Facts about Eareckson Air Station (SYA):

• The limited resources assigned to the Eleventh Air Force meant only a limited number of missions could be carried out over the Kuriles.
• 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 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 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.
• 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 1958, the Air Force resumed operations on Shemya in support of various Air Force and Army strategic intelligence collection activities.
• The Korean War brought extensive use by the Military Air Transport Service for the logistical support of Korea and Japan.
• 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.