Nonstop flight route between Shemya, Alaska, United States and Arusha, Tanzania:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Eareckson Air Station (SYA), Shemya, Alaska, United States and Arusha Airport (ARK), Arusha, Tanzania would travel a Great Circle distance of 8,257 miles (or 13,289 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 Eareckson Air Station and Arusha Airport, 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 Eareckson Air Station and Arusha Airport. 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 Eareckson Air Station (SYA):

• 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.
• Additional aircraft and personnel reductions occurred in 1945 and almost all air bases other than Alexi Point, Shemya and Davis in the Aleutians were reduced to caretaker status.
• 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.
• Eareckson Air Station (SYA) currently has only 1 runway.
• Eareckson Air Station is a United States Air Force military airport located on the island of Shemya, in the Alaskan Aleutian Islands.
• In 1958, the Air Force resumed operations on Shemya in support of various Air Force and Army strategic intelligence collection activities.
• Shemya also continued to support the Great Circle Route for MATS and later Military Airlift Command transports between Japan and Elmendorf AFB.
• In addition to being known as "Eareckson Air Station", other names for SYA include "Shemya Air Force Base", "Shemya Army Airfield" and "  ".
• The mission of Eleventh Air Force was to take advantage of the new airfields on Shemya and Attu, and carry out offensive operations against the enemy forces in the Kuriles.
• By August, Eleventh Air Force B-24s were carrying out successful and accurate attacks on the Japanese military installations and the B-25s were successful in driving the Japanese fishing and much of the shipping out of the North Pacific.

Facts about Arusha Airport (ARK):

• Arusha Airport (ARK) currently has only 1 runway.
• In addition to being known as "Arusha Airport", another name for ARK is "Uwanja wa Ndege wa Arusha  (Swahili)".
• Arusha Airport handled 122,621 passengers last year.
• The closest airport to Arusha Airport (ARK) is Kilimanjaro International Airport (JRO), which is located 32 miles (51 kilometers) E of ARK.
• The furthest airport from Arusha Airport (ARK) is Atuona Airport (AUQ), which is located 11,481 miles (18,477 kilometers) away in Atuona, Marquesas Islands, French Polynesia.
• Arusha Airport is a small airport serving Arusha, Tanzania.
• Because of Arusha Airport's high elevation of 4,550 feet, planes must typically fly at a faster airspeed in order to takeoff or land at ARK. Combined with a high temperature, this could make ARK a "Hot & High" airport, where the air density is lower than it would otherwise be at sea level.
• A few days later it was flown empty to Kilimanjaro International Airport.