Nonstop flight route between Shemya, Alaska, United States and Sørvágur, Faroe Islands:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Eareckson Air Station (SYA), Shemya, Alaska, United States and Vágar Airport (FAE), Sørvágur, Faroe Islands would travel a Great Circle distance of 4,506 miles (or 7,252 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 Vágar 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 Vágar 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 July 1973, Raytheon won a contract to build a system called COBRA DANE on Shemya.
• The news of the surrender of the Japanese was met with enthusiasm, the biggest topic was "When do we go home?".
• Shemya has been the scene of two major earthquakes.
• 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.
• Eareckson Air Station (SYA) currently has only 1 runway.
• On 10 July 1943, eight B-25 Mitchells from the 77th Bombardment Squadron left Adak AAF and refueled at Alexai Point AAF on Attu.
• 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 "  ".
• 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.

Facts about Vágar Airport (FAE):

• Vágar Airport handled 23,618 passengers last year.
• Vágar Airport (FAE) currently has only 1 runway.
• Because of Vágar Airport's relatively low elevation of 280 feet, planes can take off or land at Vágar 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 Vágar Airport (FAE) is Ryan's Creek Aerodrome (SZS), which is located 11,373 miles (18,304 kilometers) away in Stewart Island, New Zealand.
• Helicopter services go to remote islands as well as to the biggest towns.
• Until 2002 travel from the airport to most locations in the Faroe Islands including the capital Tórshavn required a car ferry, but in 2002 a road tunnel was opened giving direct road access.
• The closest airport to Vágar Airport (FAE) is Scatsta Airport (SCS), which is located 228 miles (368 kilometers) ESE of FAE.
• The runway was extended from 1,250 metres to 1,799 metres in 2011, allowing more plane types to be used.
• In addition to being known as "Vágar Airport", another name for FAE is "Vága FloghavnVágar Lufthavn".