Nonstop flight route between Shemya, Alaska, United States and Boa Vista, Cape Verde:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Eareckson Air Station (SYA), Shemya, Alaska, United States and Aristides Pereira International Airport (BVC), Boa Vista, Cape Verde would travel a Great Circle distance of 7,572 miles (or 12,186 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 Aristides Pereira International 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 Aristides Pereira International 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 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 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.
• In 1958, the Air Force resumed operations on Shemya in support of various Air Force and Army strategic intelligence collection activities.
• 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 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.
• By the end of 1944, several hundred American airmen had been interned by the Russians after their crippled aircraft landed on Petropavlovsk on the Kamchatka Peninsula.
• Eareckson Air Station (SYA) currently has only 1 runway.
• 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.

Facts about Aristides Pereira International Airport (BVC):

• In addition to being known as "Aristides Pereira International Airport", another name for BVC is "Aeroporto Internacional Aristides Pereira".
• The furthest airport from Aristides Pereira International Airport (BVC) is Bellona/Anua Airport (BNY), which is nearly antipodal to Aristides Pereira International Airport (meaning Aristides Pereira International Airport is almost on the exact opposite side of the Earth from Bellona/Anua Airport), and is located 12,057 miles (19,404 kilometers) away in Anua, Bellona Island, Solomon Islands.
• Because of Aristides Pereira International Airport's relatively low elevation of 69 feet, planes can take off or land at Aristides Pereira International 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.
• Aristides Pereira International Airport (BVC) currently has only 1 runway.
• The closest airport to Aristides Pereira International Airport (BVC) is Amílcar Cabral International Airport (SID), which is located 42 miles (68 kilometers) N of BVC.
• On 13 October 2007, TACV made a test flight from Amílcar Cabral International Airport to Rabil Airport to conclude the operational certification of the new airport.