Nonstop flight route between Shemya, Alaska, United States and Puerto Limón, Costa Rica:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Eareckson Air Station (SYA), Shemya, Alaska, United States and Limón International Airport (LIO), Puerto Limón, Costa Rica would travel a Great Circle distance of 6,200 miles (or 9,977 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 Limón International 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 Limón International 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):

• 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.
• 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.
• Eareckson Air Station is a United States Air Force military airport located on the island of Shemya, in the Alaskan Aleutian Islands.
• The news of the surrender of the Japanese was met with enthusiasm, the biggest topic was "When do we go home?".
• On 6 April 1993, Shemya Air Force Base was renamed Eareckson Air Station.
• 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.
• It also became a Strategic Air Command refueling site for B-52 Stratofortress bombers and KC-135 tankers as part of Operation Chrome Dome.

Facts about Limón International Airport (LIO):

• The furthest airport from Limón International Airport (LIO) is Cocos (Keeling) Island Airport (CCK), which is nearly antipodal to Limón International Airport (meaning Limón International Airport is almost on the exact opposite side of the Earth from Cocos (Keeling) Island Airport), and is located 12,282 miles (19,766 kilometers) away in Cocos Islands, Australia.
• Because of Limón International Airport's relatively low elevation of 7 feet, planes can take off or land at Limón International 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 Limón International Airport (LIO) is Changuinola "Capitan Manuel Niño" International Airport (CHX), which is located 47 miles (76 kilometers) SE of LIO.
• Limón International Airport (LIO) currently has only 1 runway.
• In addition to being known as "Limón International Airport", another name for LIO is "Aeropuerto Internacional de Limón".
• Puerto Limón and the southern Caribbean area towns of Cahuita, Puerto Viejo, Manzanillo and Gandoca, as well as the indigenous communities of Bri Bri, Hone Creek, Carbon 1 and 2, Shiroles and Suretka are all within two hours of the airport by ground transportation.