Nonstop flight route between Shemya, Alaska, United States and Hanimaadhoo, Haa Dhaalu Atoll, Maldives:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Eareckson Air Station (SYA), Shemya, Alaska, United States and Hanimaadhoo International Airport (HAQ), Hanimaadhoo, Haa Dhaalu Atoll, Maldives would travel a Great Circle distance of 6,301 miles (or 10,140 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 Hanimaadhoo International 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 Hanimaadhoo International 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 aerial photos taken on the raid showed the Japanese were building up forces in the area, transferring aircraft presumably from air bases on Hokkaido.
• By the end of 1944, several hundred American airmen had been interned by the Russians after their crippled aircraft landed on Petropavlovsk on the Kamchatka Peninsula.
• 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.
• Eareckson Air Station (SYA) currently has only 1 runway.
• In addition to being known as "Eareckson Air Station", other names for SYA include "Shemya Air Force Base", "Shemya Army Airfield" and "  ".
• It also became a Strategic Air Command refueling site for B-52 Stratofortress bombers and KC-135 tankers as part of Operation Chrome Dome.
• 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.
• 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.
• With the exception of a small station housekeeping unit, Shemya was abandoned after the war.
• 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.
• Eareckson Air Station is located on the western tip of Alaska's Aleutian islands near the larger island of Attu, and is located approximately 1500 miles southwest of Anchorage.

Facts about Hanimaadhoo International Airport (HAQ):

• The closest airport to Hanimaadhoo International Airport (HAQ) is Ibrahim Nasir International Airport (MLE), which is located 178 miles (287 kilometers) S of HAQ.
• Hanimaadhoo International Airport (HAQ) currently has only 1 runway.
• Because of Hanimaadhoo International Airport's relatively low elevation of 3 feet, planes can take off or land at Hanimaadhoo International 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 Hanimaadhoo International Airport (HAQ) is Seymour Airport (GPS), which is located 11,215 miles (18,049 kilometers) away in Baltra Island, Galápagos Islands, Ecuador.
• In addition to being known as "Hanimaadhoo International Airport", another name for HAQ is "ހަނިމާދޫ ބައިނަލްއަޤުވާމީ ވައިގެ ބަނދަރު".