Nonstop flight route between Southend, Essex (near London) United Kingdom and Shemya, Alaska, United States:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between London Southend Airport (SEN), Southend, Essex (near London) United Kingdom and Eareckson Air Station (SYA), Shemya, Alaska, United States would travel a Great Circle distance of 5,221 miles (or 8,403 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 London Southend 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 London Southend 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 London Southend Airport (SEN):

• Companies located at and around the airport employ over 1,000 skilled workers, providing services such as engineering and maintenance work on airliners, including re-spraying, refurbishment, upgrades to avionics, manufacture of aircraft seats and the installation of new or hush-kitted engines.
• East Anglian Flying Services moved to Southend on 5 January 1947, their first scheduled service being a Southend—Rochester feeder service.
• London Southend Airport (SEN) currently has only 1 runway.
• Annual passenger traffic first peaked in 1967, at 692,000.
• EasyJet began operating services by opening a base at Southend in April 2012.
• The furthest airport from London Southend Airport (SEN) is Chatham Islands (CHT), which is located 11,885 miles (19,126 kilometers) away in Waitangi, Chatham Islands, New Zealand.
• London Southend Airport is an international airport in the district of Rochford within Essex, England.
• London Southend Airport handled 969,912 passengers last year.
• The former terminal now houses facilities for business passengers flying executive aircraft, with lounges and conference rooms, plus flight briefing facilities for pilots and a security checkpoint.
• The closest airport to London Southend Airport (SEN) is Rochester Airport (RCS), which is located only 17 miles (28 kilometers) SSW of SEN.
• Because of London Southend Airport's relatively low elevation of 55 feet, planes can take off or land at London Southend 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.

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.
• 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.
• The limited resources assigned to the Eleventh Air Force meant only a limited number of missions could be carried out over the Kuriles.
• 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.
• 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.
• 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.
• A second attack by B-24 Liberators was launched from Alexai Point and Shemya on 18 July.
• It also became a Strategic Air Command refueling site for B-52 Stratofortress bombers and KC-135 tankers as part of Operation Chrome Dome.
• Eareckson Air Station (SYA) currently has only 1 runway.