Nonstop flight route between Shemya, Alaska, United States and Dera Ismail Khan, Pakistan:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Eareckson Air Station (SYA), Shemya, Alaska, United States and Dera Ismail Khan Airport (DSK), Dera Ismail Khan, Pakistan would travel a Great Circle distance of 5,000 miles (or 8,047 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 Dera Ismail Khan 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 Dera Ismail Khan 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 "  ".
• In July 1973, Raytheon won a contract to build a system called COBRA DANE on Shemya.
• Shemya also continued to support the Great Circle Route for MATS and later Military Airlift Command transports between Japan and Elmendorf AFB.
• 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.
• The 404th Bombardment Squadron flew B-24 Liberator heavy bombers along with one Beechcraft AT-7, which was used for navigator training.
• Eareckson Air Station (SYA) currently has only 1 runway.
• The limited resources assigned to the Eleventh Air Force meant only a limited number of missions could be carried out over the Kuriles.
• 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 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.
• In August, after the Soviet Union declared war against the Japanese Empire, B-24s were dispatched on reconnaissance and intelligence-gathering missions to observe the Russian activity in the Kuriles.
• 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.

Facts about Dera Ismail Khan Airport (DSK):

• In addition to being known as "Dera Ismail Khan Airport", another name for DSK is "RYK".
• Because of Dera Ismail Khan Airport's relatively low elevation of 594 feet, planes can take off or land at Dera Ismail Khan 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 furthest airport from Dera Ismail Khan Airport (DSK) is Mataveri International Airport (IPC), which is nearly antipodal to Dera Ismail Khan Airport (meaning Dera Ismail Khan Airport is almost on the exact opposite side of the Earth from Mataveri International Airport), and is located 12,108 miles (19,487 kilometers) away in Easter Island, Chile.
• Dera Ismail Khan Airport (DSK) currently has only 1 runway.
• The closest airport to Dera Ismail Khan Airport (DSK) is PAF Base M.M. Alam (MWD), which is located 60 miles (96 kilometers) NE of DSK.