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

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Nagasaki Airport (NGS), Nagasaki, Japan and Eareckson Air Station (SYA), Shemya, Alaska, United States would travel a Great Circle distance of 2,568 miles (or 4,132 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 Nagasaki 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 Nagasaki 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 Nagasaki Airport (NGS):

• Because of Nagasaki Airport's relatively low elevation of 8 feet, planes can take off or land at Nagasaki 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.
• The furthest airport from Nagasaki Airport (NGS) is Rio Grande Regional Airport (RIG), which is nearly antipodal to Nagasaki Airport (meaning Nagasaki Airport is almost on the exact opposite side of the Earth from Rio Grande Regional Airport), and is located 12,303 miles (19,799 kilometers) away in Rio Grande, Brazil.
• The closest airport to Nagasaki Airport (NGS) is Saga Airport (HSG), which is located 28 miles (45 kilometers) NE of NGS.
• Nagasaki Airport (NGS) has 2 runways.
• In addition to being known as "Nagasaki Airport", other names for NGS include "長崎空港" and "Nagasaki Kūkō".
• The current island runway and terminal opened on May 1, 1975.

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.
• On 6 April 1993, Shemya Air Force Base was renamed Eareckson Air Station.
• With the exception of a small station housekeeping unit, Shemya was abandoned after the war.
• Eareckson Air Station (SYA) currently has only 1 runway.
• 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.
• 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.
• 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.
• 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.