Nonstop flight route between Salamanca, Spain and Shemya, Alaska, United States:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Salamanca-Matacán Airport (SLM), Salamanca, Spain and Eareckson Air Station (SYA), Shemya, Alaska, United States would travel a Great Circle distance of 5,965 miles (or 9,600 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 Salamanca-Matacán 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 Salamanca-Matacán 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 Salamanca-Matacán Airport (SLM):

• The closest airport to Salamanca-Matacán Airport (SLM) is Valladolid International Airport (VLL), which is located 62 miles (100 kilometers) NNE of SLM.
• In addition to being known as "Salamanca-Matacán Airport", another name for SLM is "Aeropuerto de Salamanca-Matacán".
• Salamanca-Matacán Airport (SLM) has 2 runways.
• The furthest airport from Salamanca-Matacán Airport (SLM) is Kapiti Coast Airport (PPQ), which is nearly antipodal to Salamanca-Matacán Airport (meaning Salamanca-Matacán Airport is almost on the exact opposite side of the Earth from Kapiti Coast Airport), and is located 12,411 miles (19,973 kilometers) away in Paraparaumu Beach, New Zealand.
• Salamanca-Matacán Airport handled 15,830 passengers last year.

Facts about Eareckson Air Station (SYA):

• A second attack by B-24 Liberators was launched from Alexai Point and Shemya on 18 July.
• 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 is a United States Air Force military airport located on the island of Shemya, in the Alaskan Aleutian Islands.
• 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.
• 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.
• 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.
• Eareckson Air Station (SYA) currently has only 1 runway.
• 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.
• The Korean War brought extensive use by the Military Air Transport Service for the logistical support of Korea and Japan.
• In addition to being known as "Eareckson Air Station", other names for SYA include "Shemya Air Force Base", "Shemya Army Airfield" and "  ".
• In August 1988, at least one Aries rocket was launched, relating to the Queen Match program, for anti-ballistic missile testing.