Nonstop flight route between Colón, Panama and Shemya, Alaska, United States:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Enrique Adolfo Jiménez Airport (ONX), Colón, Panama and Eareckson Air Station (SYA), Shemya, Alaska, United States would travel a Great Circle distance of 6,359 miles (or 10,234 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 Enrique Adolfo Jiménez 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 Enrique Adolfo Jiménez 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 Enrique Adolfo Jiménez Airport (ONX):

• France Air Force Base was deactivated on 1 November 1949 by the United States Air Force due to budgetary reductions, and turned into a civil airport in the United States Canal Zone and renamed Colon Airport.
• The closest airport to Enrique Adolfo Jiménez Airport (ONX) is Albrook "Marcos A. Gelabert" International Airport (PAC), which is located 34 miles (55 kilometers) SE of ONX.
• Because of Enrique Adolfo Jiménez Airport's relatively low elevation of 26 feet, planes can take off or land at Enrique Adolfo Jiménez 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 "Enrique Adolfo Jiménez Airport", another name for ONX is "Aeropuerto Enrique Adolfo Jiménez".
• The furthest airport from Enrique Adolfo Jiménez Airport (ONX) is Cocos (Keeling) Island Airport (CCK), which is nearly antipodal to Enrique Adolfo Jiménez Airport (meaning Enrique Adolfo Jiménez Airport is almost on the exact opposite side of the Earth from Cocos (Keeling) Island Airport), and is located 12,139 miles (19,536 kilometers) away in Cocos Islands, Australia.
• Enrique Adolfo Jiménez Airport (ONX) currently has only 1 runway.
• The Army was concerned that France Field, being the only operational airfield in the Canal Zone, was vulnerable to potential attackers, as well as to weather conditions.
• With the entry of the United States into World War I, concern for the security of the canal saw the first airborne forces of the Army being sent to the Canal Zone.
• With the return of the Canal Zone to Panama on 1 October 1979, the airport was renamed for Enrique Adolfo Jiménez, who served as Panamanian president from 1945 to 1948.
• Almost from the beginning, it was realized that flying in the tropics was very different than in the United States.
• Enrique Adolfo Jiménez Airport is a commercial airport located in Colón, Panama, offering scheduled airline flights to the national capital, Panama City, and to other destinations.

Facts about Eareckson Air Station (SYA):

• Shemya also continued to support the Great Circle Route for MATS and later Military Airlift Command transports between Japan and Elmendorf AFB.
• The spring of 1944 brought improving weather and the B-24s and PV-1s to fly more missions 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 "  ".
• 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.
• On 1 April 1995, Eareckson AS was converted to contractor operations and maintenance, providing all support on the island.
• 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.
• 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 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.
• Eareckson Air Station (SYA) currently has only 1 runway.