Nonstop flight route between Shemya, Alaska, United States and Guizhou Province, China:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Eareckson Air Station (SYA), Shemya, Alaska, United States and Bijie Feixiong Airport (BFJ), Guizhou Province, China would travel a Great Circle distance of 3,868 miles (or 6,225 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 Bijie Feixiong 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 Bijie Feixiong 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.
• In addition to being known as "Eareckson Air Station", other names for SYA include "Shemya Air Force Base", "Shemya Army Airfield" and "  ".
• 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.
• There is also an NDB, TACAN and a VOR on the island.
• Eareckson Air Station (SYA) currently has only 1 runway.
• The base host squadron was re-designated the 5073rd Air Base Squadron on October 1962, and upgraded to a group on 15 October 1974 in recognition of the number and complexities of the tenant units it supported.
• The aerial photos taken on the raid showed the Japanese were building up forces in the area, transferring aircraft presumably from air bases on Hokkaido.
• 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.
• Shemya has been the scene of two major earthquakes.

Facts about Bijie Feixiong Airport (BFJ):

• The closest airport to Bijie Feixiong Airport (BFJ) is Anshun Huangguoshu Airport (AVA), which is located 80 miles (129 kilometers) SSE of BFJ.
• Bijie Feixiong Airport (BFJ) currently has only 1 runway.
• The furthest airport from Bijie Feixiong Airport (BFJ) is Chañaral Airport (CNR), which is nearly antipodal to Bijie Feixiong Airport (meaning Bijie Feixiong Airport is almost on the exact opposite side of the Earth from Chañaral Airport), and is located 12,176 miles (19,595 kilometers) away in Chañaral, Atacama Region, Chile.
• In addition to being known as "Bijie Feixiong Airport", other names for BFJ include "毕节飞雄机场", "Bìjié Fēixióng Jīchǎng" and "ZUBJ".