Nonstop flight route between Shemya, Alaska, United States and Boca Raton, Florida, United States:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Eareckson Air Station (SYA), Shemya, Alaska, United States and Boca Raton Airport (BCT), Boca Raton, Florida, United States would travel a Great Circle distance of 5,397 miles (or 8,686 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 Boca Raton 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 Boca Raton 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):

• 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.
• 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 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.
• 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.
• 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.
• 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.
• 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.
• 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.
• Eareckson Air Station (SYA) currently has only 1 runway.

Facts about Boca Raton Airport (BCT):

• Boca Raton Airport (BCT) currently has only 1 runway.
• The closest airport to Boca Raton Airport (BCT) is Pompano Beach Airpark (PPM), which is located only 9 miles (15 kilometers) S of BCT.
• Boca Raton Airport is a state-owned public-use airport located two miles northwest of the central business district of Boca Raton, a city in Palm Beach County, Florida, United States.
• The military inactivated the Boca Raton Army Air Field in 1946 and in the 1950s part of the air base was used for a Cold War biological weapons program before the property was developed into Florida Atlantic University.
• The furthest airport from Boca Raton Airport (BCT) is Shark Bay Airport (MJK), which is located 11,588 miles (18,649 kilometers) away in Monkey Mia, Western Australia, Australia.
• Boca Raton Airport covers an area of 212 acres and has one asphalt paved runway designated 5/23 which measures 6,276 x 150 ft.
• Because of Boca Raton Airport's relatively low elevation of 13 feet, planes can take off or land at Boca Raton 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.
• Other parts were returned to private ownership and developed, with only 200 acres and a single runway of three original runways were retained for airport use.