Nonstop flight route between Shemya, Alaska, United States and Bima, Indonesia:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Eareckson Air Station (SYA), Shemya, Alaska, United States and Sultan Muhammad Salahuddin Airport (BMU), Bima, Indonesia would travel a Great Circle distance of 5,333 miles (or 8,582 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 Sultan Muhammad Salahuddin 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 Sultan Muhammad Salahuddin 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):

• It also became a Strategic Air Command refueling site for B-52 Stratofortress bombers and KC-135 tankers as part of Operation Chrome Dome.
• Eareckson Air Station (SYA) currently has only 1 runway.
• The spring of 1944 brought improving weather and the B-24s and PV-1s to fly more missions over the Kuriles.
• 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 "  ".
• 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 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.
• 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.
• 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.

Facts about Sultan Muhammad Salahuddin Airport (BMU):

• In addition to being known as "Sultan Muhammad Salahuddin Airport", another name for BMU is "Bima Airport".
• Because of Sultan Muhammad Salahuddin Airport's relatively low elevation of 3 feet, planes can take off or land at Sultan Muhammad Salahuddin 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.
• Sultan Muhammad Salahuddin Airport (BMU) currently has only 1 runway.
• The closest airport to Sultan Muhammad Salahuddin Airport (BMU) is Komodo Airport (LBJ), which is located 82 miles (132 kilometers) E of BMU.
• The furthest airport from Sultan Muhammad Salahuddin Airport (BMU) is Manuel Carlos Piar Guayana International Airport (PZO), which is nearly antipodal to Sultan Muhammad Salahuddin Airport (meaning Sultan Muhammad Salahuddin Airport is almost on the exact opposite side of the Earth from Manuel Carlos Piar Guayana International Airport), and is located 12,336 miles (19,853 kilometers) away in Ciudad Guayana, Venezuela.