Nonstop flight route between Shemya, Alaska, United States and Kita Kyūshū, Kyūshū, Japan:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Eareckson Air Station (SYA), Shemya, Alaska, United States and Kokura Airport (KKJ), Kita Kyūshū, Kyūshū, Japan would travel a Great Circle distance of 2,480 miles (or 3,992 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 relatively short distance between Eareckson Air Station and Kokura Airport, the route shown on this map most likely still appears to be a straight line.

Departure Airport Information:

Arrival Airport Information:

Facts about Eareckson Air Station (SYA):

• In 1958, the Air Force resumed operations on Shemya in support of various Air Force and Army strategic intelligence collection activities.
• 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.
• 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.
• 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.
• In addition to being known as "Eareckson Air Station", other names for SYA include "Shemya Air Force Base", "Shemya Army Airfield" and "  ".
• 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.
• There is also an NDB, TACAN and a VOR on the island.
• Shemya has been the scene of two major earthquakes.
• 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.
• 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.

Facts about Kokura Airport (KKJ):

• The furthest airport from Kokura Airport (KKJ) is Rio Grande Regional Airport (RIG), which is nearly antipodal to Kokura Airport (meaning Kokura Airport is almost on the exact opposite side of the Earth from Rio Grande Regional Airport), and is located 12,220 miles (19,665 kilometers) away in Rio Grande, Brazil.
• Because of Kokura Airport's relatively low elevation of 10 feet, planes can take off or land at Kokura 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 closest airport to Kokura Airport (KKJ) is Yamaguchi Ube Airport (UBJ), which is located 20 miles (32 kilometers) ENE of KKJ.
• In addition to being known as "Kokura Airport", other names for KKJ include "小倉空港" and "Kokura Kūkō".
• Kokura Airport (KKJ) currently has only 1 runway.