Nonstop flight route between Shemya, Alaska, United States and Ocho Rios, Jamaica:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Eareckson Air Station (SYA), Shemya, Alaska, United States and Ian Fleming International Airport (OCJ), Ocho Rios, Jamaica would travel a Great Circle distance of 5,962 miles (or 9,594 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 Ian Fleming 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 Ian Fleming 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 "  ".
• 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.
• It also became a Strategic Air Command refueling site for B-52 Stratofortress bombers and KC-135 tankers as part of Operation Chrome Dome.
• 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.
• 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.
• Shemya also continued to support the Great Circle Route for MATS and later Military Airlift Command transports between Japan and Elmendorf AFB.
• 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.
• 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.
• Eareckson Air Station (SYA) currently has only 1 runway.

Facts about Ian Fleming International Airport (OCJ):

• The furthest airport from Ian Fleming International Airport (OCJ) is Christmas Island Airport (XCH), which is located 11,859 miles (19,086 kilometers) away in Christmas Island, Australia.
• Ian Fleming International Airport is an international airport located in Boscobel, Saint Mary Parish, Jamaica, 10 km east of Ocho Rios, in northern Jamaica.
• Ian Fleming International Airport (OCJ) currently has only 1 runway.
• The new airport welcomed its first international flight on Friday, May 7, 2010 when a single-engine Pilatus PC-12 turbo prop flew in from the Bahamas with singer-songwriter and businessman Jimmy Buffett, of "Margaritaville" fame, being the first international passenger to be processed by customs and immigration officers at the facility.
• The renaming of the airport was controversial, with some locals feeling that a prominent Jamaican should have been honoured in preference to the British Ian Fleming.
• The closest airport to Ian Fleming International Airport (OCJ) is Tinson Pen Aerodrome (KTP), which is located 30 miles (49 kilometers) SSE of OCJ.
• Because of Ian Fleming International Airport's relatively low elevation of 90 feet, planes can take off or land at Ian Fleming 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.