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):

• The closest airport to Penang International Airport (PEN) is RMAF Butterworth (BWH), which is located only 14 miles (23 kilometers) NE of PEN.
• Penang International Airport (PEN) currently has only 1 runway.
• 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.
• 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.
• 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.
• 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.

Facts about Eareckson Air Station (SYA):

• In August, after the Soviet Union declared war against the Japanese Empire, B-24s were dispatched on reconnaissance and intelligence-gathering missions to observe the Russian activity in the Kuriles.
• 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.
• 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.
• In addition to being known as "Eareckson Air Station", other names for SYA include "Shemya Air Force Base", "Shemya Army Airfield" and "  ".
• 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.
• 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.
• Shemya also continued to support the Great Circle Route for MATS and later Military Airlift Command transports between Japan and Elmendorf AFB.
• In 1966 the Air Defense Command 9th Air Division assumed jurisdiction of the base.
• 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.