Nonstop flight route between Norfolk, Virginia (near Virginia Beach and Williamsburg), United States and Shemya, Alaska, United States:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Norfolk International Airport (ORF), Norfolk, Virginia (near Virginia Beach and Williamsburg), United States and Eareckson Air Station (SYA), Shemya, Alaska, United States would travel a Great Circle distance of 4,952 miles (or 7,970 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 Norfolk International 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 Norfolk International 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 Norfolk International Airport (ORF):

• The airport's largest capital improvement project, Arrival 2002, was completed in June 2002.
• Norfolk International Airport is a public use airport located three nautical miles northeast of the central business district of Norfolk, an independent city in the U.S.
• Because of Norfolk International Airport's relatively low elevation of 27 feet, planes can take off or land at Norfolk International 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 Norfolk International Airport (ORF) is Margaret River Airport (MGV), which is located 11,769 miles (18,940 kilometers) away in Margaret River, Western Australia, Australia.
• Norfolk International Airport (ORF) has 2 runways.
• With World War II, Norfolk Municipal Airport became a vital resource to the war effort.
• The closest airport to Norfolk International Airport (ORF) is Naval Station Norfolk (NGU), which is located only 7 miles (11 kilometers) WNW of ORF.
• Daily scheduled aircraft include ERJ135/140/145,CRJ200/700/900, E-170/175, Q200/300/400, MD80/90, A319, B737-300/-500/-700/-800, B757, B727, A310.
• Approximately 70 million pounds of air cargo are presently shipped in and out of Norfolk International Airport each year.

Facts about Eareckson Air Station (SYA):

• With the exception of a small station housekeeping unit, Shemya was abandoned after the war.
• Additional aircraft and personnel reductions occurred in 1945 and almost all air bases other than Alexi Point, Shemya and Davis in the Aleutians were reduced to caretaker status.
• 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 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.
• By the end of 1944, several hundred American airmen had been interned by the Russians after their crippled aircraft landed on Petropavlovsk on the Kamchatka Peninsula.
• In addition to being known as "Eareckson Air Station", other names for SYA include "Shemya Air Force Base", "Shemya Army Airfield" and "  ".
• The station was also used by SAC Cobra Ball and other related projects which monitored missile-associated signals and tracks missiles during boost and re-entry phases to provide reconnaissance for treaty verification and theater ballistic missile proliferation.
• Eareckson Air Station (SYA) currently has only 1 runway.
• There is also an NDB, TACAN and a VOR on the island.
• On 6 April 1993, Shemya Air Force Base was renamed Eareckson Air Station.