Nonstop flight route between Shemya, Alaska, United States and Courchevel, France:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Eareckson Air Station (SYA), Shemya, Alaska, United States and Courchevel Airport (CVF), Courchevel, France would travel a Great Circle distance of 5,618 miles (or 9,041 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 Courchevel 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 Courchevel 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 spring of 1944 brought improving weather and the B-24s and PV-1s to fly more missions over the Kuriles.
• In addition to being known as "Eareckson Air Station", other names for SYA include "Shemya Air Force Base", "Shemya Army Airfield" and "  ".
• With the exception of a small station housekeeping unit, Shemya was abandoned after the war.
• 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.
• 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.
• 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 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 closest airport to Eareckson Air Station (SYA) is Casco Cove Coast Guard Station (ATU), which is located 40 miles (65 kilometers) WNW of SYA.

Facts about Courchevel Airport (CVF):

• In addition to being known as "Courchevel Airport", another name for CVF is "Aérodrome de Courchevel".
• Courchevel Airport (CVF) currently has only 1 runway.
• Because of Courchevel Airport's high elevation of 6,588 feet, planes must typically fly at a faster airspeed in order to takeoff or land at CVF. Combined with a high temperature, this could make CVF a "Hot & High" airport, where the air density is lower than it would otherwise be at sea level.
• The furthest airport from Courchevel Airport (CVF) is Chatham Islands (CHT), which is nearly antipodal to Courchevel Airport (meaning Courchevel Airport is almost on the exact opposite side of the Earth from Chatham Islands), and is located 12,249 miles (19,713 kilometers) away in Waitangi, Chatham Islands, New Zealand.
• The closest airport to Courchevel Airport (CVF) is Méribel Airport (MFX), which is located only 3 miles (5 kilometers) WNW of CVF.