Nonstop flight route between Shemya, Alaska, United States and Minami Daito, Okinawa, Japan:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Eareckson Air Station (SYA), Shemya, Alaska, United States and Minami-Daito Airport (MMD), Minami Daito, Okinawa, Japan would travel a Great Circle distance of 2,882 miles (or 4,637 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 Minami-Daito 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 Minami-Daito 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):

• 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.
• 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.
• 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.
• 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 "  ".
• With the successful completion of the Aleutian Campaign in August 1943, Eleventh Air Force came within striking distance of the Japanese Kurile Islands, the northernmost being 750 miles to the south-southwest of Shemya.
• 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 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 Minami-Daito Airport (MMD):

• The closest airport to Minami-Daito Airport (MMD) is Kitadaito Airport (KTD), which is located only 8 miles (13 kilometers) NNE of MMD.
• In addition to being known as "Minami-Daito Airport", other names for MMD include "南大東空港" and "Minamidaitō Kūkō".
• Minami-Daito Airport (MMD) currently has only 1 runway.
• The original Minamidaito Airport began as an air base for the Imperial Japanese Navy in 1934.
• The furthest airport from Minami-Daito Airport (MMD) is Joinville-Lauro Carneiro de Loyola Airport (JOI), which is nearly antipodal to Minami-Daito Airport (meaning Minami-Daito Airport is almost on the exact opposite side of the Earth from Joinville-Lauro Carneiro de Loyola Airport), and is located 12,411 miles (19,973 kilometers) away in Joinville, Santa Catarina, Brazil.
• Because of Minami-Daito Airport's relatively low elevation of 159 feet, planes can take off or land at Minami-Daito 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.