Nonstop flight route between Mota Lava, Vanuatu and Shemya, Alaska, United States:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Mota Lava Airport (MTV), Mota Lava, Vanuatu and Eareckson Air Station (SYA), Shemya, Alaska, United States would travel a Great Circle distance of 4,602 miles (or 7,406 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 Mota Lava 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 Mota Lava 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 Mota Lava Airport (MTV):

• Out of the four airports in the Torba province, Valua Airport has the length and reliability advantage.
• The furthest airport from Mota Lava Airport (MTV) is Kédougou Airport (KGG), which is nearly antipodal to Mota Lava Airport (meaning Mota Lava Airport is almost on the exact opposite side of the Earth from Kédougou Airport), and is located 12,361 miles (19,893 kilometers) away in Kédougou, Senegal.
• Because of Mota Lava Airport's relatively low elevation of 63 feet, planes can take off or land at Mota Lava 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 addition to being known as "Mota Lava Airport", another name for MTV is "Valua Airport".
• The closest airport to Mota Lava Airport (MTV) is Vanua Lava Airport (SLH), which is located only 17 miles (28 kilometers) SW of MTV.
• Mota Lava Airport is an airport located on the island of Mota Lava, one of the Banks Islands in the Torba province in Vanuatu.

Facts about Eareckson Air Station (SYA):

• In addition to being known as "Eareckson Air Station", other names for SYA include "Shemya Air Force Base", "Shemya Army Airfield" and "  ".
• 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.
• 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 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.
• On 6 April 1993, Shemya Air Force Base was renamed Eareckson Air Station.
• 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.
• Eareckson Air Station (SYA) currently has only 1 runway.
• 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.