Nonstop flight route between Shemya, Alaska, United States and Egilsstaðir, Iceland:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Eareckson Air Station (SYA), Shemya, Alaska, United States and Egilsstaðir Airport (EGS), Egilsstaðir, Iceland would travel a Great Circle distance of 4,272 miles (or 6,874 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 Egilsstaðir 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 Egilsstaðir 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 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.
• By August, Eleventh Air Force B-24s were carrying out successful and accurate attacks on the Japanese military installations and the B-25s were successful in driving the Japanese fishing and much of the shipping out of the North Pacific.
• A second attack by B-24 Liberators was launched from Alexai Point and Shemya on 18 July.
• On 6 April 1993, Shemya Air Force Base was renamed Eareckson Air Station.
• 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.
• 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 closest airport to Eareckson Air Station (SYA) is Casco Cove Coast Guard Station (ATU), which is located 40 miles (65 kilometers) WNW of SYA.
• In addition to being known as "Eareckson Air Station", other names for SYA include "Shemya Air Force Base", "Shemya Army Airfield" and "  ".
• Shemya also continued to support the Great Circle Route for MATS and later Military Airlift Command transports between Japan and Elmendorf AFB.
• After the disastrous attack, the focus of Eleventh Air Force was shifted to a defensive posture in the event of retaliatory attacks from the Japanese.
• Eareckson Air Station (SYA) currently has only 1 runway.

Facts about Egilsstaðir Airport (EGS):

• Because of Egilsstaðir Airport's relatively low elevation of 76 feet, planes can take off or land at Egilsstaðir 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.
• In addition to being known as "Egilsstaðir Airport", another name for EGS is "Egilsstaðaflugvöllur".
• The furthest airport from Egilsstaðir Airport (EGS) is Ryan's Creek Aerodrome (SZS), which is located 11,163 miles (17,965 kilometers) away in Stewart Island, New Zealand.
• Egilsstaðir Airport handled 101,424 passengers last year.
• The closest airport to Egilsstaðir Airport (EGS) is Vopnafjörður Airport (VPN), which is located 33 miles (53 kilometers) NNW of EGS.
• Egilsstaðir Airport (EGS) currently has only 1 runway.