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):

• John Wayne Airport is 14 miles from Orange County's main attraction – the Disneyland Resort.
• 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.
• The closest airport to John Wayne Airport (SNA) is MCAS El Toro (NZJ), which is located only 8 miles (13 kilometers) E of SNA.
• John Wayne Airport (SNA) has 2 runways.
• 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.
• Nonstop flights reached Salt Lake City in 1976–77, Denver in 1982, Dallas-Fort Worth in 1983, Chicago in 1986, and New York Kennedy in 1991.
• Terminals A and B were designed by Gensler & Associates, Leason Pomeroy Associates, and Thompson Consultants International.
• The first airstrip on the grounds was constructed in 1923, when Eddie Martin started giving biplane rides on land owned by The Irvine Company, initially without their permission.
• Martin and James Irvine made a deal for a five-year lease on 80 acres for $35 a month and founded a flying school on land owned by the Irvine Company.

Facts about Eareckson Air Station (SYA):

• On 28 May 1943, a small detachment of Alaskan Scouts began reconnaissance of Shemya, a small, flat, uninhabited island 35 miles to the east of Attu.
• 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.
• 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.
• It also became a Strategic Air Command refueling site for B-52 Stratofortress bombers and KC-135 tankers as part of Operation Chrome Dome.
• 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 "  ".
• 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 (SYA) currently has only 1 runway.