Nonstop flight route between Shemya, Alaska, United States and Lannion, France:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Eareckson Air Station (SYA), Shemya, Alaska, United States and Lannion - Côte de Granit Airport (LAI), Lannion, France would travel a Great Circle distance of 5,425 miles (or 8,730 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 Lannion - Côte de Granit 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 Lannion - Côte de Granit 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):

• 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.
• Eareckson Air Station (SYA) currently has only 1 runway.
• 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 10 July 1943, eight B-25 Mitchells from the 77th Bombardment Squadron left Adak AAF and refueled at Alexai Point AAF on 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 "  ".
• In 1958, the Air Force resumed operations on Shemya in support of various Air Force and Army strategic intelligence collection activities.
• Shemya also continued to support the Great Circle Route for MATS and later Military Airlift Command transports between Japan and Elmendorf AFB.
• 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.
• The 404th Bombardment Squadron flew B-24 Liberator heavy bombers along with one Beechcraft AT-7, which was used for navigator training.
• 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.

Facts about Lannion - Côte de Granit Airport (LAI):

• In addition to being known as "Lannion - Côte de Granit Airport", another name for LAI is "Aéroport de Lannion - Côte de Granit".
• The furthest airport from Lannion - Côte de Granit Airport (LAI) is Dunedin International Airport (DUD), which is nearly antipodal to Lannion - Côte de Granit Airport (meaning Lannion - Côte de Granit Airport is almost on the exact opposite side of the Earth from Dunedin International Airport), and is located 12,082 miles (19,444 kilometers) away in Dunedin, Otago, New Zealand.
• Lannion - Côte de Granit Airport (LAI) currently has only 1 runway.
• The closest airport to Lannion - Côte de Granit Airport (LAI) is Morlaix - Ploujean Airport (MXN), which is located only 19 miles (30 kilometers) SW of LAI.
• Because of Lannion - Côte de Granit Airport's relatively low elevation of 290 feet, planes can take off or land at Lannion - Côte de Granit 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.