Nonstop flight route between Shemya, Alaska, United States and Sidi Bel Abbès, Algeria:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Eareckson Air Station (SYA), Shemya, Alaska, United States and Sidi Bel Abbès Airport (BFW), Sidi Bel Abbès, Algeria would travel a Great Circle distance of 6,356 miles (or 10,229 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 Sidi Bel Abbès 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 Sidi Bel Abbès 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 "  ".
• 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.
• A second attack by B-24 Liberators was launched from Alexai Point and Shemya on 18 July.
• 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.
• 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.
• 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.
• 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 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.
• 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.

Facts about Sidi Bel Abbès Airport (BFW):

• The closest airport to Sidi Bel Abbès Airport (BFW) is Oran Tafaraoui Airport (TAF), which is located 26 miles (41 kilometers) N of BFW.
• The furthest airport from Sidi Bel Abbès Airport (BFW) is Great Barrier Aerodrome (GBZ), which is nearly antipodal to Sidi Bel Abbès Airport (meaning Sidi Bel Abbès Airport is almost on the exact opposite side of the Earth from Great Barrier Aerodrome), and is located 12,204 miles (19,641 kilometers) away in Great Barrier Island, New Zealand.
• Sidi Bel Abbès Airport (BFW) currently has only 1 runway.