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

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Eareckson Air Station (SYA), Shemya, Alaska, United States and Kagoshima Airport (KOJ), Kagoshima, Japan would travel a Great Circle distance of 2,591 miles (or 4,169 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 Kagoshima 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 Kagoshima 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 6 April 1993, Shemya Air Force Base was renamed Eareckson Air Station.
• In addition to being known as "Eareckson Air Station", other names for SYA include "Shemya Air Force Base", "Shemya Army Airfield" and "  ".
• 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.
• 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.
• 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.
• 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.
• There is also an NDB, TACAN and a VOR on the island.
• 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 exception of a small station housekeeping unit, Shemya was abandoned after the war.
• The mission of Eleventh Air Force was to take advantage of the new airfields on Shemya and Attu, and carry out offensive operations against the enemy forces in the Kuriles.
• 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.
• 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.

Facts about Kagoshima Airport (KOJ):

• In addition to being known as "Kagoshima Airport", other names for KOJ include "鹿児島空港" and "Kagoshima Kūkō".
• Because of Kagoshima Airport's relatively low elevation of 892 feet, planes can take off or land at Kagoshima 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 Kagoshima Airport (KOJ) is Salgado Filho International Airport (POA), which is nearly antipodal to Kagoshima Airport (meaning Kagoshima Airport is almost on the exact opposite side of the Earth from Salgado Filho International Airport), and is located 12,269 miles (19,745 kilometers) away in Porto Alegre, Rio Grande do Sul, Brazil.
• Kagoshima Airport (KOJ) currently has only 1 runway.
• The closest airport to Kagoshima Airport (KOJ) is Miyazaki Airport (KMI), which is located 43 miles (70 kilometers) E of KOJ.