Nonstop flight route between Shemya, Alaska, United States and Arutua, Tuamotus, French Polynesia:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Eareckson Air Station (SYA), Shemya, Alaska, United States and Arutua Airport (AXR), Arutua, Tuamotus, French Polynesia would travel a Great Circle distance of 5,245 miles (or 8,442 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 Arutua 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 Arutua 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 closest airport to Eareckson Air Station (SYA) is Casco Cove Coast Guard Station (ATU), which is located 40 miles (65 kilometers) WNW of SYA.
• Jurisdiction of Shemya AFB was transferred from the Aerospace Defense Command to the Strategic Air Command when the former was inactivated on 1 October 1979.
• 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.
• In 1958, the Air Force resumed operations on Shemya in support of various Air Force and Army strategic intelligence collection activities.
• 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.
• The spring of 1944 brought improving weather and the B-24s and PV-1s to fly more missions over the Kuriles.
• 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 news of the surrender of the Japanese was met with enthusiasm, the biggest topic was "When do we go home?".
• Eareckson Air Station is a United States Air Force military airport located on the island of Shemya, in the Alaskan Aleutian Islands.

Facts about Arutua Airport (AXR):

• The furthest airport from Arutua Airport (AXR) is Khartoum International Airport (KRT), which is nearly antipodal to Arutua Airport (meaning Arutua Airport is almost on the exact opposite side of the Earth from Khartoum International Airport), and is located 12,377 miles (19,919 kilometers) away in Khartoum, Sudan.
• The closest airport to Arutua Airport (AXR) is Apataki Airport (APK), which is located 26 miles (42 kilometers) SSE of AXR.