Nonstop flight route between Shemya, Alaska, United States and Jeddah, Saudi Arabia:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Eareckson Air Station (SYA), Shemya, Alaska, United States and King Abdulaziz International Airport (JED), Jeddah, Saudi Arabia would travel a Great Circle distance of 6,630 miles (or 10,670 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 King Abdulaziz 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 King Abdulaziz 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 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 1958, the Air Force resumed operations on Shemya in support of various Air Force and Army strategic intelligence collection activities.
• 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.
• After the disastrous attack, the focus of Eleventh Air Force was shifted to a defensive posture in the event of retaliatory attacks from the Japanese.
• Eareckson Air Station (SYA) currently has only 1 runway.
• 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 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.
• 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 King Abdulaziz International Airport (JED):

• Because of King Abdulaziz International Airport's relatively low elevation of 48 feet, planes can take off or land at King Abdulaziz 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 King Abdulaziz International Airport (JED) is Tureira Airport (ZTA), which is nearly antipodal to King Abdulaziz International Airport (meaning King Abdulaziz International Airport is almost on the exact opposite side of the Earth from Tureira Airport), and is located 12,277 miles (19,758 kilometers) away in Tureia, Tuamotus, French Polynesia.
• King Abdulaziz International Airport is an aviation facility located 19 km to the north of Jeddah.
• In addition to being known as "King Abdulaziz International Airport", another name for JED is "مطار الملك عبدالعزيز الدولي".
• The closest airport to King Abdulaziz International Airport (JED) is Ta'if Regional Airport (TIF), which is located 90 miles (145 kilometers) E of JED.
• The new King Abdulaziz International Airport three-stage development started in September 2006, and is currently scheduled for completion in 2014.
• King Abdulaziz International Airport (JED) has 3 runways.
• Designed by the famous Bangladeshi engineer Fazlur Khan of the architectural firm Skidmore, Owings & Merrill LLP, it is known for its tentlike roof structure, engineered by Horst Berger.
• The General Authority of Civil Aviation has the GACA Hangar at the airport.
• King Abdulaziz International Airport handled 27,111,000 passengers last year.