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

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Southwest Florida International Airport (RSW), Fort Myers, Florida, United States and Eareckson Air Station (SYA), Shemya, Alaska, United States would travel a Great Circle distance of 5,328 miles (or 8,574 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 Southwest Florida 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 Southwest Florida 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 Southwest Florida International Airport (RSW):

• For the 12-month period ending December 31, 2011, the airport had 83,385 aircraft operations, an average of 228 per day.
• Southwest Florida International Airport handled 7,637,801 passengers last year.
• Because of Southwest Florida International Airport's relatively low elevation of 30 feet, planes can take off or land at Southwest Florida 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 airport was renamed Southwest Florida International Airport in 1993, though it had hosted international flights since 1984 and U.S.
• Southwest Florida International Airport (RSW) currently has only 1 runway.
• The closest airport to Southwest Florida International Airport (RSW) is Page Field (FMY), which is located only 8 miles (12 kilometers) WNW of RSW.
• The furthest airport from Southwest Florida International Airport (RSW) is Shark Bay Airport (MJK), which is located 11,486 miles (18,485 kilometers) away in Monkey Mia, Western Australia, Australia.

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.
• On 6 April 1993, Shemya Air Force Base was renamed Eareckson Air Station.
• 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.
• 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.
• 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.
• 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.
• The Korean War brought extensive use by the Military Air Transport Service for the logistical support of Korea and Japan.
• In July 1973, Raytheon won a contract to build a system called COBRA DANE on Shemya.