Nonstop flight route between Shemya, Alaska, United States and Elko, Nevada, United States:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Eareckson Air Station (SYA), Shemya, Alaska, United States and Elko Regional Airport (EKO), Elko, Nevada, United States would travel a Great Circle distance of 3,279 miles (or 5,276 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 Elko Regional 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 Elko Regional 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 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 addition to being known as "Eareckson Air Station", other names for SYA include "Shemya Air Force Base", "Shemya Army Airfield" and "  ".
• Eareckson Air Station (SYA) currently has only 1 runway.
• 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 closest airport to Eareckson Air Station (SYA) is Casco Cove Coast Guard Station (ATU), which is located 40 miles (65 kilometers) WNW of SYA.
• 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.
• 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.
• 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.
• 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 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.
• On 6 April 1993, Shemya Air Force Base was renamed Eareckson Air Station.

Facts about Elko Regional Airport (EKO):

• In addition to being known as "Elko Regional Airport", another name for EKO is "J.C. Harris Field".
• United Airlines served Elko with Boeing 737-200 jetliners from November 1977 until 1982 flying a routing of San Francisco - Reno - Elko - Ely - Salt Lake City.
• Elko Regional Airport (EKO) has 2 runways.
• The furthest airport from Elko Regional Airport (EKO) is Pierrefonds Airport (ZSE), which is located 10,994 miles (17,694 kilometers) away in Saint-Pierre, Réunion.
• The closest airport to Elko Regional Airport (EKO) is Wells Municipal Airport (LWL), which is located 50 miles (80 kilometers) ENE of EKO.
• Because of Elko Regional Airport's high elevation of 5,140 feet, planes must typically fly at a faster airspeed in order to takeoff or land at EKO. Combined with a high temperature, this could make EKO a "Hot & High" airport, where the air density is lower than it would otherwise be at sea level.