Nonstop flight route between Portland, Oregon, United States and Shemya, Alaska, United States:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Portland International Airport (PDX), Portland, Oregon, United States and Eareckson Air Station (SYA), Shemya, Alaska, United States would travel a Great Circle distance of 2,808 miles (or 4,518 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 Portland 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 Portland 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 Portland International Airport (PDX):

• Swan Island Airport was officially named Portland Airport until the opening of the new airport.
• The closest airport to Portland International Airport (PDX) is Portland-Troutdale Airport (TTD), which is located only 10 miles (16 kilometers) ESE of PDX.
• Portland International Airport handled 1,502,956 passengers last year.
• The airport's international service was also featured on The Amazing Race 13 as the arrival airport after all three teams that were in the race arrived on Lufthansa from Frankfurt.
• Portland International Airport (PDX) has 3 runways.
• Because of Portland International Airport's relatively low elevation of 30 feet, planes can take off or land at Portland 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.
• By 1935 it was becoming apparent to the Port of Portland that the Swan Island Airport was becoming obsolete.
• The furthest airport from Portland International Airport (PDX) is Tôlanaro Airport (FTU), which is located 10,903 miles (17,546 kilometers) away in Tôlanaro, Madagascar.
• The present H-shape of the PDX terminal, designed by Zimmer Gunsul Frasca Partnership, was completed on September 10, 2001 when the new A, B and C concourses, as well as the light rail line, were finished.
• A new terminal opened in 1959, which for the most part serves as the present facility.
• Concourses A and B are given mostly to Alaska Airlines and Horizon Air.

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 "  ".
• 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.
• The mission of Eleventh Air Force was to take advantage of the new airfields on Shemya and Attu, and carry out offensive operations against the enemy forces in the Kuriles.
• Eareckson Air Station (SYA) currently has only 1 runway.
• 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.
• It also became a Strategic Air Command refueling site for B-52 Stratofortress bombers and KC-135 tankers as part of Operation Chrome Dome.
• 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.
• 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.