Nonstop flight route between Shemya, Alaska, United States and Barreiras, Bahia, Brazil:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Eareckson Air Station (SYA), Shemya, Alaska, United States and Barreiras Airport (BRA), Barreiras, Bahia, Brazil would travel a Great Circle distance of 8,897 miles (or 14,318 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 Barreiras 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 Barreiras 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.
• 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.
• Eareckson Air Station (SYA) currently has only 1 runway.
• 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.
• 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.
• 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 news of the surrender of the Japanese was met with enthusiasm, the biggest topic was "When do we go home?".
• In July 1973, Raytheon won a contract to build a system called COBRA DANE on Shemya.
• 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.
• The 404th Bombardment Squadron flew B-24 Liberator heavy bombers along with one Beechcraft AT-7, which was used for navigator training.

Facts about Barreiras Airport (BRA):

• The furthest airport from Barreiras Airport (BRA) is Yap International Airport (YAP), which is nearly antipodal to Barreiras Airport (meaning Barreiras Airport is almost on the exact opposite side of the Earth from Yap International Airport), and is located 12,161 miles (19,572 kilometers) away in Yap, Federated States of Micronesia.
• The airport was opened in 1940 and served as a strategic technical stop on the route Rio de Janeiro-Miami, enabling faster flights as compared with the ones operated via the coast.
• The airport is located 14 km from downtown Barreiras.
• Barreiras Airport (BRA) currently has only 1 runway.
• The closest airport to Barreiras Airport (BRA) is Bom Jesus da Lapa Airport (LAZ), which is located 135 miles (218 kilometers) SE of BRA.
• In addition to being known as "Barreiras Airport", another name for BRA is "Aeroporto de Barreiras".