Nonstop flight route between Shemya, Alaska, United States and Düsseldorf, North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Eareckson Air Station (SYA), Shemya, Alaska, United States and Düsseldorf Airport (DUS), Düsseldorf, North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany would travel a Great Circle distance of 5,213 miles (or 8,390 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 Düsseldorf 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 Düsseldorf 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 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.
• 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 closest airport to Eareckson Air Station (SYA) is Casco Cove Coast Guard Station (ATU), which is located 40 miles (65 kilometers) WNW of SYA.
• 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.
• 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.
• 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 limited resources assigned to the Eleventh Air Force meant only a limited number of missions could be carried out over the Kuriles.
• 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 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 "  ".

Facts about Düsseldorf Airport (DUS):

• Düsseldorf Airport has three terminals connected by a central spine, even though the terminals are essentially concourses within a single terminal building.
• The new Düsseldorf Airport station was opened in May 2000, with the capacity of 300 train departures daily.
• In addition to being known as "Düsseldorf Airport", another name for DUS is "Flughafen Düsseldorf".
• The closest airport to Düsseldorf Airport (DUS) is Düsseldorf Mönchengladbach Airport (MGL), which is located only 12 miles (19 kilometers) WSW of DUS.
• Düsseldorf Airport handled 20,830,000 passengers last year.
• Since 2003, an area of 23 hectares south-west of the airport terminal has been under redevelopment as Düsseldorf Airport City with an anticipated gross floor area of 250,000 square metres to be completed by 2016.
• In 1986 Terminal C was opened and 8.22 million passengers used the airport – making it number two in Germany.
• The furthest airport from Düsseldorf Airport (DUS) is Chatham Islands (CHT), which is located 11,899 miles (19,149 kilometers) away in Waitangi, Chatham Islands, New Zealand.
• The Düsseldorf Airport fire which has been the worst structural airport fire worldwide yet was caused by welding work on an elevated road in front of Terminal A above its arrivals area and insufficient structural fire protection.
• Because of Düsseldorf Airport's relatively low elevation of 147 feet, planes can take off or land at Düsseldorf 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.
• Düsseldorf Airport (DUS) has 2 runways.