Nonstop flight route between Shemya, Alaska, United States and Hamburg / Fuhlsbüttel, Germany:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Eareckson Air Station (SYA), Shemya, Alaska, United States and Hamburg Airport (HAM), Hamburg / Fuhlsbüttel, Germany would travel a Great Circle distance of 5,033 miles (or 8,099 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 Hamburg 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 Hamburg 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 station was also used by SAC Cobra Ball and other related projects which monitored missile-associated signals and tracks missiles during boost and re-entry phases to provide reconnaissance for treaty verification and theater ballistic missile proliferation.
• Eareckson Air Station (SYA) currently has only 1 runway.
• 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 "  ".
• The 404th Bombardment Squadron flew B-24 Liberator heavy bombers along with one Beechcraft AT-7, which was used for navigator training.
• 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.
• The spring of 1944 brought improving weather and the B-24s and PV-1s to fly more missions 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.
• 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.
• Shemya also continued to support the Great Circle Route for MATS and later Military Airlift Command transports between Japan and Elmendorf AFB.

Facts about Hamburg Airport (HAM):

• Runways, taxiways and aprons are able to handle the Airbus A380.
• Hamburg Airport (HAM) has 2 runways.
• In the early 1990s, the airport began an extensive modernization process.
• In addition to being known as "Hamburg Airport", another name for HAM is "Flughafen Hamburg".
• Hamburg Airport handled 13,502,939 passengers last year.
• The furthest airport from Hamburg Airport (HAM) is Chatham Islands (CHT), which is located 11,698 miles (18,826 kilometers) away in Waitangi, Chatham Islands, New Zealand.
• The closest airport to Hamburg Airport (HAM) is Hamburg Finkenwerder Airport (XFW), which is located only 9 miles (15 kilometers) SW of HAM.
• Because of Hamburg Airport's relatively low elevation of 53 feet, planes can take off or land at Hamburg 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.
• Terminal 1 was completed in 2005 and is highly similar to Terminal 2 in terms of design and size.
• The airport is also linked by some local bus routes to nearby areas as well as regular coach services to the cities of Kiel, Neumünster and Lübeck.