Nonstop flight route between Shemya, Alaska, United States and Honolulu, Hawaii, United States:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Eareckson Air Station (SYA), Shemya, Alaska, United States and Honolulu International Airport (HNL), Honolulu, Hawaii, United States would travel a Great Circle distance of 2,627 miles (or 4,228 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 Honolulu 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 Honolulu 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):

• 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 aerial photos taken on the raid showed the Japanese were building up forces in the area, transferring aircraft presumably from air bases on Hokkaido.
• 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.
• 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.
• It also became a Strategic Air Command refueling site for B-52 Stratofortress bombers and KC-135 tankers as part of Operation Chrome Dome.
• 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 "  ".
• The limited resources assigned to the Eleventh Air Force meant only a limited number of missions could be carried out over the Kuriles.

Facts about Honolulu International Airport (HNL):

• Because of Honolulu International Airport's relatively low elevation of 13 feet, planes can take off or land at Honolulu 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 airport has four major runways, which it shares with the adjacent Hickam Air Force Base.
• The closest airport to Honolulu International Airport (HNL) is Hickam Field (HIK), which is located only 0 mile (0 kilometer) N of HNL.
• Honolulu International Airport (HNL) has 6 runways.
• It is also the base for Aloha Air Cargo, which previously offered both passenger and cargo services under the name Aloha Airlines.
• By 2012 Hawaiian Airlines was re-establishing Honolulu Airport as a connecting hub between the United States mainland and the Asia-Pacific region.
• The furthest airport from Honolulu International Airport (HNL) is Ghanzi Airport (GNZ), which is nearly antipodal to Honolulu International Airport (meaning Honolulu International Airport is almost on the exact opposite side of the Earth from Ghanzi Airport), and is located 12,399 miles (19,955 kilometers) away in Ghanzi, Botswana.
• Traffic between Honolulu and the mainland United States is dominated by flights to and from Los Angeles and San Francisco.
• On March 24, 2006 Hawaii Governor Linda Lingle unveiled a $2.3 billion modernization program for Hawaii airports over a 12-year period, with $1.7 billion budgeted for Honolulu International Airport.