Nonstop flight route between Rockhampton, Queensland, Australia and Shemya, Alaska, United States:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Rockhampton Airport (ROK), Rockhampton, Queensland, Australia and Eareckson Air Station (SYA), Shemya, Alaska, United States would travel a Great Circle distance of 5,447 miles (or 8,766 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 Rockhampton 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 Rockhampton 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 Rockhampton Airport (ROK):

• The closest airport to Rockhampton Airport (ROK) is Gladstone Airport (GLT), which is located 58 miles (94 kilometers) SE of ROK.
• Rockhampton Airport handled 701,062 passengers last year.
• Rockhampton Airport (ROK) has 2 runways.
• The furthest airport from Rockhampton Airport (ROK) is Agostinho Neto Airport (NTO), which is located 11,922 miles (19,187 kilometers) away in Ponta do Sol, Santo Antão, Cape Verde.
• The Rockhampton Airport was named the 2007 Australian Major Airport of the Year at the prestigious National Awards in recognition of Excellence in Australian Aviation, in Melbourne on 13 November 2007.
• Efforts to locate a permanent aerodrome site in the city had been proceeding for a number of years in the 1920s.
• Because of Rockhampton Airport's relatively low elevation of 36 feet, planes can take off or land at Rockhampton 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.
• In 2008, Rockhampton Airport completed an A$8.4 million terminal redevelopment.

Facts about Eareckson Air Station (SYA):

• 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.
• There is also an NDB, TACAN and a VOR on the island.
• 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 addition to being known as "Eareckson Air Station", other names for SYA include "Shemya Air Force Base", "Shemya Army Airfield" and "  ".
• Shemya has been the scene of two major earthquakes.
• 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.
• Shemya also continued to support the Great Circle Route for MATS and later Military Airlift Command transports between Japan and Elmendorf AFB.
• Eareckson Air Station (SYA) currently has only 1 runway.
• 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.
• On 27 January 1992 the 5073rd Air Base Group located at Shemya AFB was re-designated as the Pacific Air Forces Eleventh Air Force 673d Air Base Group.
• 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.