Nonstop flight route between Shemya, Alaska, United States and Gunsan, South Korea:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Eareckson Air Station (SYA), Shemya, Alaska, United States and Gunsan Airport (KUV), Gunsan, South Korea would travel a Great Circle distance of 2,560 miles (or 4,120 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 Gunsan 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 Gunsan 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):

• Shemya also continued to support the Great Circle Route for MATS and later Military Airlift Command transports between Japan and Elmendorf AFB.
• Additional aircraft and personnel reductions occurred in 1945 and almost all air bases other than Alexi Point, Shemya and Davis in the Aleutians were reduced to caretaker status.
• 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 404th Bombardment Squadron flew B-24 Liberator heavy bombers along with one Beechcraft AT-7, which was used for navigator training.
• The Korean War brought extensive use by the Military Air Transport Service for the logistical support of Korea and Japan.
• By the end of 1944, several hundred American airmen had been interned by the Russians after their crippled aircraft landed on Petropavlovsk on the Kamchatka Peninsula.
• 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.
• 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.
• Eareckson Air Station (SYA) currently has only 1 runway.

Facts about Gunsan Airport (KUV):

• Gunsan Airport handled 133,242 passengers last year.
• Because of Gunsan Airport's relatively low elevation of 29 feet, planes can take off or land at Gunsan 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.
• In addition to being known as "Gunsan Airport", other names for KUV include "군산공항 群山空港", "Gunsan Gonghang" and "Kunsan Konghang".
• The closest airport to Gunsan Airport (KUV) is Gwangju Airport (KWJ), which is located 55 miles (88 kilometers) SSE of KUV.
• The furthest airport from Gunsan Airport (KUV) is Capitán de Corbeta Carlos A. Curbelo International Airport (PDP), which is nearly antipodal to Gunsan Airport (meaning Gunsan Airport is almost on the exact opposite side of the Earth from Capitán de Corbeta Carlos A. Curbelo International Airport), and is located 12,316 miles (19,821 kilometers) away in Maldonado/Punta del Este, Maldonado, Uruguay.
• Gunsan Airport (KUV) currently has only 1 runway.