Nonstop flight route between Rurutu, French Polynesia and Shemya, Alaska, United States:
Departure Airport:
Arrival Airport:
Distance from RUR to SYA:
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- About this route
- RUR Airport Information
- SYA Airport Information
- Facts about RUR
- Facts about SYA
- Map of Nearest Airports to RUR
- List of Nearest Airports to RUR
- Map of Furthest Airports from RUR
- List of Furthest Airports from RUR
- Map of Nearest Airports to SYA
- List of Nearest Airports to SYA
- Map of Furthest Airports from SYA
- List of Furthest Airports from SYA
About this route:
A direct, nonstop flight between Rurutu Airport (RUR), Rurutu, French Polynesia and Eareckson Air Station (SYA), Shemya, Alaska, United States would travel a Great Circle distance of 5,591 miles (or 8,998 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 Rurutu 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 Rurutu 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:
IATA / ICAO Codes: | RUR / NTAR |
Airport Name: | Rurutu Airport |
Location: | Rurutu, French Polynesia |
GPS Coordinates: | 22°25'54"S by 151°21'57"W |
Area Served: | Rurutu |
Elevation: | 10 feet (3 meters) |
# of Runways: | 1 |
View all routes: | Routes from RUR |
More Information: | RUR Maps & Info |
Arrival Airport Information:
IATA / ICAO Codes: | SYA / PASY |
Airport Names: |
|
Location: | Shemya, Alaska, United States |
GPS Coordinates: | 52°42'43"N by 174°6'48"E |
Operator/Owner: | U.S. Air Force |
Airport Type: | Military |
Elevation: | 97 feet (30 meters) |
# of Runways: | 1 |
View all routes: | Routes from SYA |
More Information: | SYA Maps & Info |
Facts about Rurutu Airport (RUR):
- Rurutu Airport (RUR) currently has only 1 runway.
- The furthest airport from Rurutu Airport (RUR) is Sharq Al-Owainat Airport (GSQ), which is nearly antipodal to Rurutu Airport (meaning Rurutu Airport is almost on the exact opposite side of the Earth from Sharq Al-Owainat Airport), and is located 12,425 miles (19,996 kilometers) away in Sharq Al-Owainat, Egypt.
- Because of Rurutu Airport's relatively low elevation of 10 feet, planes can take off or land at Rurutu 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 Rurutu Airport (RUR) is Fa'a'ā International Airport (PPT), which is located 356 miles (572 kilometers) NNE of RUR.
Facts about Eareckson Air Station (SYA):
- 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.
- In addition to being known as "Eareckson Air Station", other names for SYA include "Shemya Air Force Base", "Shemya Army Airfield" and " ".
- Additional aircraft and personnel reductions occurred in 1945 and almost all air bases other than Alexi Point, Shemya and Davis in the Aleutians were reduced to caretaker status.
- Eareckson Air Station (SYA) currently has only 1 runway.
- 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 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.
- In 1966 the Air Defense Command 9th Air Division assumed jurisdiction of the base.
- 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.