Nonstop flight route between Pensacola, Florida, United States and Shemya, Alaska, United States:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Pensacola International Airport (PNS), Pensacola, Florida, United States and Eareckson Air Station (SYA), Shemya, Alaska, United States would travel a Great Circle distance of 4,910 miles (or 7,902 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 Pensacola 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 Pensacola 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 Pensacola International Airport (PNS):

• The furthest airport from Pensacola International Airport (PNS) is Cocos (Keeling) Island Airport (CCK), which is located 11,148 miles (17,940 kilometers) away in Cocos Islands, Australia.
• Because of Pensacola International Airport's relatively low elevation of 121 feet, planes can take off or land at Pensacola 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.
• The closest airport to Pensacola International Airport (PNS) is NOLF Saufley Field (NUN), which is located only 9 miles (15 kilometers) W of PNS.
• Pensacola International Airport (PNS) has 2 runways.
• In 1935 a passenger terminal opened, and airline service began two years later.
• The airport director is Greg Donovan, who replaced Melinda Crawford in 2012.
• UPS Airlines is the only cargo carrier at the airport currently.
• Pensacola has one passenger terminal with 12 gates, built in the early 1990s.
• On December 27, 1987 an Eastern Airlines DC-9-31 made a hard landing and split its fuselage open just aft of its wing root.

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 "  ".
• 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.
• 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.
• Shemya also continued to support the Great Circle Route for MATS and later Military Airlift Command transports between Japan and Elmendorf AFB.
• In July 1973, Raytheon won a contract to build a system called COBRA DANE on 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.
• Eareckson Air Station (SYA) currently has only 1 runway.
• The spring of 1944 brought improving weather and the B-24s and PV-1s to fly more missions over the Kuriles.
• 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.