Nonstop flight route between Oulu, Finland and Shemya, Alaska, United States:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Oulu Airport (OUL), Oulu, Finland and Eareckson Air Station (SYA), Shemya, Alaska, United States would travel a Great Circle distance of 4,140 miles (or 6,663 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 Oulu 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 Oulu 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 Oulu Airport (OUL):

• In addition to being known as "Oulu Airport", another name for OUL is "Oulun lentoasema".
• Oulu Airport handled 877,080 passengers last year.
• The furthest airport from Oulu Airport (OUL) is Chatham Islands (CHT), which is located 10,753 miles (17,306 kilometers) away in Waitangi, Chatham Islands, New Zealand.
• Because of Oulu Airport's relatively low elevation of 47 feet, planes can take off or land at Oulu 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.
• Oulu Airport has one runway, 12/30, which is 2,501 m long and 60 m wide.
• The closest airport to Oulu Airport (OUL) is Kemi-Tornio Airport (KEM), which is located 63 miles (101 kilometers) NNW of OUL.
• Oulu Airport (OUL) currently has only 1 runway.

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 "  ".
• Shemya also continued to support the Great Circle Route for MATS and later Military Airlift Command transports between Japan and Elmendorf AFB.
• 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.
• There is also an NDB, TACAN and a VOR on the island.
• 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.
• 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 news of the surrender of the Japanese was met with enthusiasm, the biggest topic was "When do we go home?".
• Eareckson Air Station is located on the western tip of Alaska's Aleutian islands near the larger island of Attu, and is located approximately 1500 miles southwest of Anchorage.
• In 1966 the Air Defense Command 9th Air Division assumed jurisdiction of the base.
• 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 aerial photos taken on the raid showed the Japanese were building up forces in the area, transferring aircraft presumably from air bases on Hokkaido.