Nonstop flight route between Shemya, Alaska, United States and Maloelap Atoll, Marshall Islands:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Eareckson Air Station (SYA), Shemya, Alaska, United States and Kaben Airport (KBT), Maloelap Atoll, Marshall Islands would travel a Great Circle distance of 3,033 miles (or 4,881 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 Kaben 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 Kaben 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 closest airport to Eareckson Air Station (SYA) is Casco Cove Coast Guard Station (ATU), which is located 40 miles (65 kilometers) WNW of SYA.
• Jurisdiction of Shemya AFB was transferred from the Aerospace Defense Command to the Strategic Air Command when the former was inactivated on 1 October 1979.
• 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.
• 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.
• In addition to being known as "Eareckson Air Station", other names for SYA include "Shemya Air Force Base", "Shemya Army Airfield" and "  ".
• Shemya also continued to support the Great Circle Route for MATS and later Military Airlift Command transports between Japan and Elmendorf AFB.
• Eareckson Air Station (SYA) currently has only 1 runway.
• The spring of 1944 brought improving weather and the B-24s and PV-1s to fly more missions over the Kuriles.
• There is also an NDB, TACAN and a VOR on the island.

Facts about Kaben Airport (KBT):

• The closest airport to Kaben Airport (KBT) is Maloelap Airport (MAV), which is located 29 miles (47 kilometers) ESE of KBT.
• Because of Kaben Airport's relatively low elevation of 0 feet, planes can take off or land at Kaben 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 Kaben Airport (KBT) is RAF Ascension (ASI), which is nearly antipodal to Kaben Airport (meaning Kaben Airport is almost on the exact opposite side of the Earth from RAF Ascension), and is located 12,073 miles (19,430 kilometers) away in Georgetown, Ascension Island, Saint Helena.
• Kaben is a small island, no more than 2.5 kilometers long and a kilometer across.