Nonstop flight route between Shemya, Alaska, United States and Lapu-Lapu City, Philippines:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Eareckson Air Station (SYA), Shemya, Alaska, United States and Mactan-Cebu International Airport (CEB), Lapu-Lapu City, Philippines would travel a Great Circle distance of 4,033 miles (or 6,490 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 Mactan-Cebu 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 Mactan-Cebu 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):

• In addition to being known as "Eareckson Air Station", other names for SYA include "Shemya Air Force Base", "Shemya Army Airfield" and "  ".
• 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 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 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 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.
• Eareckson Air Station is a United States Air Force military airport located on the island of Shemya, in the Alaskan Aleutian Islands.
• Eareckson Air Station (SYA) currently has only 1 runway.
• It also became a Strategic Air Command refueling site for B-52 Stratofortress bombers and KC-135 tankers as part of Operation Chrome Dome.
• 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.
• 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.
• 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.

Facts about Mactan-Cebu International Airport (CEB):

• Mactan-Cebu International Airport (CEB) currently has only 1 runway.
• On August 20, 2008, the Mactan-Cebu International Airport Authority announced that about 300 million Philippine pesos will be spent for the terminal expansion program to address the increasing volume of passenger traffic.
• Ramzi Yousef was on board Flight 434 from Manila when he planted the bomb beneath a vacant seat.
• In addition to being known as "Mactan-Cebu International Airport", another name for CEB is "Tugpahanang Pangkalibutan sa Mactan-SugboPaliparang Pandaigdig ng Mactan-Cebu".
• The furthest airport from Mactan-Cebu International Airport (CEB) is Piloto Osvaldo Marques Dias Airport (AFL), which is nearly antipodal to Mactan-Cebu International Airport (meaning Mactan-Cebu International Airport is almost on the exact opposite side of the Earth from Piloto Osvaldo Marques Dias Airport), and is located 12,405 miles (19,964 kilometers) away in Alta Floresta, Brazil.
• In the mid-1960s, the civilian airport was opened, to replace the Lahug Airport, which could no longer be expanded due to safety and physical problems.
• The closest airport to Mactan-Cebu International Airport (CEB) is Tagbilaran Airport (TAG), which is located 46 miles (74 kilometers) S of CEB.
• Mactan-Cebu International Airport handled 6,050,564 passengers last year.
• Because of Mactan-Cebu International Airport's relatively low elevation of 75 feet, planes can take off or land at Mactan-Cebu 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.