Nonstop flight route between Del Carmen, Surigao del Norte, Philippines and Shemya, Alaska, United States:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Sayak Airport (SOS), Del Carmen, Surigao del Norte, Philippines and Eareckson Air Station (SYA), Shemya, Alaska, United States would travel a Great Circle distance of 3,984 miles (or 6,412 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 Sayak 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 Sayak 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 Sayak Airport (SOS):

• Sayak Airport handled 781 passengers last year.
• The closest airport to Sayak Airport (SOS) is Surigao Airport (SUG), which is located 37 miles (60 kilometers) W of SOS.
• In addition to being known as "Sayak Airport", other names for SOS include "Paliparan ng Sayak", "IAO" and "RPNS".
• Sayak Airport (SOS) currently has only 1 runway.
• The furthest airport from Sayak Airport (SOS) is Orlando Villas-Bôas Regional Airport (MBK), which is nearly antipodal to Sayak Airport (meaning Sayak Airport is almost on the exact opposite side of the Earth from Orlando Villas-Bôas Regional Airport), and is located 12,368 miles (19,904 kilometers) away in Matupá, Mato Grosso, Brazil.
• Because of Sayak Airport's relatively low elevation of 10 feet, planes can take off or land at Sayak 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):

• 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.
• 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 station was also used by SAC Cobra Ball and other related projects which monitored missile-associated signals and tracks missiles during boost and re-entry phases to provide reconnaissance for treaty verification and theater ballistic missile proliferation.
• 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.
• 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.
• 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 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 "  ".
• With the exception of a small station housekeeping unit, Shemya was abandoned after the war.