Nonstop flight route between Shemya, Alaska, United States and Windhoek, Namibia:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Eareckson Air Station (SYA), Shemya, Alaska, United States and Eros Airport (ERS), Windhoek, Namibia would travel a Great Circle distance of 10,030 miles (or 16,142 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 Eros 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 Eros 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):

• 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.
• 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.
• 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 1958, the Air Force resumed operations on Shemya in support of various Air Force and Army strategic intelligence collection activities.
• 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.
• 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 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 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.
• Shemya also continued to support the Great Circle Route for MATS and later Military Airlift Command transports between Japan and Elmendorf AFB.

Facts about Eros Airport (ERS):

• The furthest airport from Eros Airport (ERS) is PMRF Barking Sands (BKH), which is nearly antipodal to Eros Airport (meaning Eros Airport is almost on the exact opposite side of the Earth from PMRF Barking Sands), and is located 12,232 miles (19,686 kilometers) away in Kekaha, Hawaii, United States.
• In January 2008, a Cessna 210 crashed after take off killing the pilot and all 6 tourists on board.
• The airport resides at an elevation of 5,575 feet above mean sea level.
• Because of Eros Airport's high elevation of 5,575 feet, planes must typically fly at a faster airspeed in order to takeoff or land at ERS. Combined with a high temperature, this could make ERS a "Hot & High" airport, where the air density is lower than it would otherwise be at sea level.
• Eros Airport (ERS) has 2 runways.
• The closest airport to Eros Airport (ERS) is Hosea Kutako International Airport (WDH), which is located 26 miles (42 kilometers) ENE of ERS.
• In addition to being known as "Eros Airport", another name for ERS is "Windhoek Eros Airport".