Nonstop flight route between Shemya, Alaska, United States and Brisbane, Queensland, Australia:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Eareckson Air Station (SYA), Shemya, Alaska, United States and Brisbane Airport (BNE), Brisbane, Queensland, Australia would travel a Great Circle distance of 5,677 miles (or 9,136 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 Brisbane 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 Brisbane 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):

• With the exception of a small station housekeeping unit, Shemya was abandoned after the war.
• 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.
• 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.
• 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.
• The mission of Eleventh Air Force was to take advantage of the new airfields on Shemya and Attu, and carry out offensive operations against the enemy forces in the Kuriles.
• Eareckson Air Station (SYA) currently has only 1 runway.
• 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.
• The limited resources assigned to the Eleventh Air Force meant only a limited number of missions could be carried out over the Kuriles.

Facts about Brisbane Airport (BNE):

• Brisbane Airport handled 2,139,106 passengers last year.
• Because of Brisbane Airport's relatively low elevation of 13 feet, planes can take off or land at Brisbane 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.
• The closest airport to Brisbane Airport (BNE) is Caloundra Airport (CUD), which is located 40 miles (65 kilometers) N of BNE.
• The Federal Government announced the construction of a new airport to be built immediately north of Eagle Farm.
• Brisbane Airport (BNE) has 2 runways.
• The domestic terminal has three distinct areas serving Qantas and Qantaslink at the northern end of the building and Virgin Australia at the southern end of the building with other carriers such as Jetstar, Tiger Airways and Skytrans are located in the central area of the terminal.
• Located on the south-eastern side of the airport, the Hawker Pacific private flight facility handles private flights, VIP aircraft movements, and Alliance Airlines departures.
• The international terminal was built in 1995 and has 12 bays with aerobridges, two of these a capable of handling A380s.
• The furthest airport from Brisbane Airport (BNE) is La Palma Airport (SPC), which is located 11,874 miles (19,109 kilometers) away in La Palma, Canary Islands, Spain.