Nonstop flight route between Santa Ana, California, United States and Shemya, Alaska, United States:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between John Wayne Airport (SNA), Santa Ana, California, United States and Eareckson Air Station (SYA), Shemya, Alaska, United States would travel a Great Circle distance of 3,521 miles (or 5,666 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 John Wayne 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 John Wayne 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 John Wayne Airport (SNA):

• Because of John Wayne Airport's relatively low elevation of 56 feet, planes can take off or land at John Wayne 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 Arrivals level is on the lower level of the airport and provides seven baggage claim belts, two in Terminal A, two in Terminal B and three in Terminal C.
• John Wayne International Airport is the sole commercial airport in Orange County.
• All three terminals, A, B and C, are within the same Thomas F.
• The closest airport to John Wayne Airport (SNA) is MCAS El Toro (NZJ), which is located only 8 miles (13 kilometers) E of SNA.
• In 1967, the 22,000-square-foot Eddie Martin Terminal was constructed to accommodate 400,000 annual passengers.
• At some point between 1940 and 1945, the Santa Ana Army Airfield was established on land adjacent to Martin Field, to the south.
• John Wayne Airport (SNA) has 2 runways.
• In 1926, Eddie Martin was finally able to acquire a hangar for his airport, a portable wooden building which sold for $350.
• The furthest airport from John Wayne Airport (SNA) is Pierrefonds Airport (ZSE), which is located 11,490 miles (18,491 kilometers) away in Saint-Pierre, Réunion.

Facts about Eareckson Air Station (SYA):

• Eareckson Air Station is located on the western tip of Alaska's Aleutian islands near the larger island of Attu, and is located approximately 1500 miles southwest of Anchorage.
• 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.
• In August 1988, at least one Aries rocket was launched, relating to the Queen Match program, for anti-ballistic missile testing.
• 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.
• The Korean War brought extensive use by the Military Air Transport Service for the logistical support of Korea and Japan.
• 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.
• Eareckson Air Station (SYA) currently has only 1 runway.
• 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.
• In addition to being known as "Eareckson Air Station", other names for SYA include "Shemya Air Force Base", "Shemya Army Airfield" and "  ".
• 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.