Nonstop flight route between Shemya, Alaska, United States and Lakselv, Norway:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Eareckson Air Station (SYA), Shemya, Alaska, United States and Lakselv Airport, Banak (LKL), Lakselv, Norway would travel a Great Circle distance of 3,814 miles (or 6,139 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 Lakselv Airport, Banak, 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 Lakselv Airport, Banak. 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 has been the scene of two major earthquakes.
• On 6 April 1993, Shemya Air Force Base was renamed Eareckson Air Station.
• 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.
• A second attack by B-24 Liberators was launched from Alexai Point and Shemya on 18 July.
• Shemya also continued to support the Great Circle Route for MATS and later Military Airlift Command transports between Japan and Elmendorf AFB.
• Eareckson Air Station is located on the western tip of Alaska's Aleutian islands near the larger island of Attu, and is located approximately 1500 miles southwest of Anchorage.
• 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.
• 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.
• Eareckson Air Station (SYA) currently has only 1 runway.
• With the exception of a small station housekeeping unit, Shemya was abandoned after the war.
• In addition to being known as "Eareckson Air Station", other names for SYA include "Shemya Air Force Base", "Shemya Army Airfield" and "  ".
• In 1966 the Air Defense Command 9th Air Division assumed jurisdiction of the base.

Facts about Lakselv Airport, Banak (LKL):

• In addition to being known as "Lakselv Airport, Banak", another name for LKL is "Lakselv lufthavn, Banak".
• Widerøe is the main airline operating at Banak, with daily flights to Alta and Tromsø using Bombardier Dash 8 aircraft.
• The furthest airport from Lakselv Airport, Banak (LKL) is Chatham Islands (CHT), which is located 10,476 miles (16,859 kilometers) away in Waitangi, Chatham Islands, New Zealand.
• Construction was carried out simultaneously at Banak, Alta Airport and Kirkenes Airport, Høybuktmoen, which combined would give Finnmark three primary airports.
• The closest airport to Lakselv Airport, Banak (LKL) is Alta Airport (ALF), which is located 38 miles (62 kilometers) W of LKL.
• Interest in Banak rose with the Czechoslovak coup d'état of 1948 and fears of Soviet intervention in Norway.
• Because of Lakselv Airport, Banak's relatively low elevation of 25 feet, planes can take off or land at Lakselv Airport, Banak 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.
• Lakselv Airport, Banak handled 71,763 passengers last year.
• Station Group Banak, formerly Banak Air Station, comprises the airfield's military activity.