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

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Eareckson Air Station (SYA), Shemya, Alaska, United States and Broken Hill Airport (BHQ), Broken Hill, New South Wales, Australia would travel a Great Circle distance of 6,175 miles (or 9,938 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 Broken Hill 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 Broken Hill 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 spring of 1944 brought improving weather and the B-24s and PV-1s to fly more missions over the Kuriles.
• 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.
• 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.
• On 10 July 1943, eight B-25 Mitchells from the 77th Bombardment Squadron left Adak AAF and refueled at Alexai Point AAF on Attu.
• 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.
• In July 1973, Raytheon won a contract to build a system called COBRA DANE on Shemya.
• 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.

Facts about Broken Hill Airport (BHQ):

• The furthest airport from Broken Hill Airport (BHQ) is Flores Airport (FLW), which is located 11,776 miles (18,951 kilometers) away in Flores Island, Azores, Portugal.
• It is also used extensively by the mining industry.
• Broken Hill Airport was ranked 51st in Australia for the number of revenue passengers served in financial year 2009-2010.
• Because of Broken Hill Airport's relatively low elevation of 959 feet, planes can take off or land at Broken Hill 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.
• Broken Hill Airport handled 63,098 passengers last year.
• The closest airport to Broken Hill Airport (BHQ) is Mildura Airport (MQL), which is located 158 miles (254 kilometers) SSE of BHQ.
• Broken Hill Airport (BHQ) has 2 runways.