Nonstop flight route between Shemya, Alaska, United States and Ely, Minnesota, United States:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Eareckson Air Station (SYA), Shemya, Alaska, United States and Ely Municipal Airport (LYU), Ely, Minnesota, United States would travel a Great Circle distance of 3,861 miles (or 6,214 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 Ely Municipal 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 Ely Municipal 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 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.
• On 28 May 1943, a small detachment of Alaskan Scouts began reconnaissance of Shemya, a small, flat, uninhabited island 35 miles to the east of Attu.
• 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.
• 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.
• 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.
• In addition to being known as "Eareckson Air Station", other names for SYA include "Shemya Air Force Base", "Shemya Army Airfield" and "  ".
• Shemya has been the scene of two major earthquakes.
• 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 Korean War brought extensive use by the Military Air Transport Service for the logistical support of Korea and Japan.
• Eareckson Air Station (SYA) currently has only 1 runway.
• The station was also used by SAC Cobra Ball and other related projects which monitored missile-associated signals and tracks missiles during boost and re-entry phases to provide reconnaissance for treaty verification and theater ballistic missile proliferation.

Facts about Ely Municipal Airport (LYU):

• The closest airport to Ely Municipal Airport (LYU) is Range Regional Airport (HIB), which is located 56 miles (90 kilometers) WSW of LYU.
• Ely Municipal Airport is in Saint Louis County, Minnesota, four miles south of Ely, which owns it.
• In addition to being known as "Ely Municipal Airport", another name for LYU is "ELO".
• Ely Municipal Airport (LYU) currently has only 1 runway.
• The furthest airport from Ely Municipal Airport (LYU) is Margaret River Airport (MGV), which is located 10,748 miles (17,296 kilometers) away in Margaret River, Western Australia, Australia.