Nonstop flight route between Shemya, Alaska, United States and Luxor, Egypt:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Eareckson Air Station (SYA), Shemya, Alaska, United States and Luxor International Airport (LXR), Luxor, Egypt would travel a Great Circle distance of 6,544 miles (or 10,531 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 Luxor 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 Luxor 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):

• 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.
• In 1958, the Air Force resumed operations on Shemya in support of various Air Force and Army strategic intelligence collection activities.
• 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.
• In addition to being known as "Eareckson Air Station", other names for SYA include "Shemya Air Force Base", "Shemya Army Airfield" and "  ".
• There is also an NDB, TACAN and a VOR on the island.
• 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.
• 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.
• 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.

Facts about Luxor International Airport (LXR):

• Because of Luxor International Airport's relatively low elevation of 294 feet, planes can take off or land at Luxor 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 furthest airport from Luxor International Airport (LXR) is Rurutu Airport (RUR), which is nearly antipodal to Luxor International Airport (meaning Luxor International Airport is almost on the exact opposite side of the Earth from Rurutu Airport), and is located 12,096 miles (19,467 kilometers) away in Rurutu, French Polynesia.
• Luxor International Airport (LXR) currently has only 1 runway.
• The closest airport to Luxor International Airport (LXR) is Aswan International Airport (ASW), which is located 118 miles (190 kilometers) S of LXR.
• In 2005 the airport was upgraded to accommodate up to 8 million passengers a year.