Nonstop flight route between Shemya, Alaska, United States and Armidale, New South Wales, Australia:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Eareckson Air Station (SYA), Shemya, Alaska, United States and Armidale Airport (ARM), Armidale, New South Wales, Australia would travel a Great Circle distance of 5,909 miles (or 9,510 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 Armidale 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 Armidale 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.
• 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 "  ".
• Eareckson Air Station is a United States Air Force military airport located on the island of Shemya, in the Alaskan Aleutian Islands.
• The 404th Bombardment Squadron flew B-24 Liberator heavy bombers along with one Beechcraft AT-7, which was used for navigator training.
• The spring of 1944 brought improving weather and the B-24s and PV-1s to fly more missions over the Kuriles.
• 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.
• 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.
• On 1 April 1995, Eareckson AS was converted to contractor operations and maintenance, providing all support on the island.
• Eareckson Air Station (SYA) currently has only 1 runway.
• Shemya also continued to support the Great Circle Route for MATS and later Military Airlift Command transports between Japan and Elmendorf AFB.
• In August, after the Soviet Union declared war against the Japanese Empire, B-24s were dispatched on reconnaissance and intelligence-gathering missions to observe the Russian activity in the Kuriles.

Facts about Armidale Airport (ARM):

• The furthest airport from Armidale Airport (ARM) is Santa Maria Airport (SMA), which is located 11,955 miles (19,239 kilometers) away in Santa Maria, Portugal.
• The closest airport to Armidale Airport (ARM) is Inverell Airport (IVR), which is located 52 miles (84 kilometers) NNW of ARM.
• The airport resides at an elevation of 3,556 ft above mean sea level.
• Armidale Airport (ARM) has 2 runways.
• East-West Airlines operated from Sydney and Brisbane to Armidale from 1949 until 1988 when the routes were taken over by Eastern Australia Airlines.
• Armidale Airport was ranked 45th in Australia for the number of revenue passengers served in financial year 2012-2013.
• Armidale was one of the 20 destinations looked at by Virgin Australia for services to Sydney using Embraer jet aircraft.