Nonstop flight route between Punta Islita, Costa Rica and Shemya, Alaska, United States:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Punta Islita Airport (PBP), Punta Islita, Costa Rica and Eareckson Air Station (SYA), Shemya, Alaska, United States would travel a Great Circle distance of 6,111 miles (or 9,835 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 Punta Islita 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 Punta Islita 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 Punta Islita Airport (PBP):

• Punta Islita Airport (PBP) currently has only 1 runway.
• Because of Punta Islita Airport's relatively low elevation of 7 feet, planes can take off or land at Punta Islita 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 closest airport to Punta Islita Airport (PBP) is Playa Sámara/Carrillo Airport (RIK), which is located only 8 miles (13 kilometers) W of PBP.
• The furthest airport from Punta Islita Airport (PBP) is Cocos (Keeling) Island Airport (CCK), which is nearly antipodal to Punta Islita Airport (meaning Punta Islita Airport is almost on the exact opposite side of the Earth from Cocos (Keeling) Island Airport), and is located 12,217 miles (19,661 kilometers) away in Cocos Islands, Australia.

Facts about Eareckson Air Station (SYA):

• 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.
• 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.
• Eareckson Air Station (SYA) currently has only 1 runway.
• 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 "  ".
• With the exception of a small station housekeeping unit, Shemya was abandoned after the war.
• In 1966 the Air Defense Command 9th Air Division assumed jurisdiction of the base.
• 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 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.