Nonstop flight route between Penang, Malaysia and Shemya, Alaska, United States:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Penang International Airport (PEN), Penang, Malaysia and Eareckson Air Station (SYA), Shemya, Alaska, United States would travel a Great Circle distance of 5,253 miles (or 8,454 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 Penang 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 Penang 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 Penang International Airport (PEN):

• Penang International Airport is a medium-sized airport with good connections to major cities in South East Asia.
• The closest airport to Penang International Airport (PEN) is RMAF Butterworth (BWH), which is located only 14 miles (23 kilometers) NE of PEN.
• The airport is the hub of two low-cost carriers, namely Firefly and AirAsia.
• The furthest airport from Penang International Airport (PEN) is Cap. FAP Guillermo Concha Iberico International Airport (PIU), which is nearly antipodal to Penang International Airport (meaning Penang International Airport is almost on the exact opposite side of the Earth from Cap. FAP Guillermo Concha Iberico International Airport), and is located 12,375 miles (19,916 kilometers) away in Piura, Peru.
• In the Mini-budget announced by Prime Minister Najib Tun Razak, who is also the Finance Minister, on 10 March 2009, RM250 million has been allocated for the expansion of the airport.
• In 2013, over 5.48 million passengers used Penang International Airport.
• Penang International Airport (PEN) currently has only 1 runway.
• Penang International Airport won the Best Emerging Airport award in the 23rd annual Asian Freight and Supply Chain Awards 2009 and Airport of the Year in the 2009 Frost and Sullivan Asia Pacific Aerospace and Defence Awards.
• In addition to being known as "Penang International Airport", another name for PEN is "Lapangan Terbang Antarabangsa Pulau Pinang".
• Penang International Airport handled 5,487,751 passengers last year.
• Because of Penang International Airport's relatively low elevation of 11 feet, planes can take off or land at Penang 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.

Facts about Eareckson Air Station (SYA):

• 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.
• On 28 May 1943, a small detachment of Alaskan Scouts began reconnaissance of Shemya, a small, flat, uninhabited island 35 miles to the east of Attu.
• In addition to being known as "Eareckson Air Station", other names for SYA include "Shemya Air Force Base", "Shemya Army Airfield" and "  ".
• 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 spring of 1944 brought improving weather and the B-24s and PV-1s to fly more missions over the Kuriles.
• 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.
• 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.
• A second attack by B-24 Liberators was launched from Alexai Point and Shemya on 18 July.
• The news of the surrender of the Japanese was met with enthusiasm, the biggest topic was "When do we go home?".
• The Korean War brought extensive use by the Military Air Transport Service for the logistical support of Korea and Japan.
• 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.
• Eareckson Air Station (SYA) currently has only 1 runway.
• 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.
• In July 1973, Raytheon won a contract to build a system called COBRA DANE on Shemya.