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

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Eareckson Air Station (SYA), Shemya, Alaska, United States and Yonaguni Airport (OGN), Yonaguni, Okinawa, Japan would travel a Great Circle distance of 3,282 miles (or 5,282 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 Yonaguni 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 Yonaguni 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):

• 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.
• 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.
• With the exception of a small station housekeeping unit, Shemya was abandoned after the war.
• In July 1973, Raytheon won a contract to build a system called COBRA DANE on Shemya.
• In addition to being known as "Eareckson Air Station", other names for SYA include "Shemya Air Force Base", "Shemya Army Airfield" and "  ".
• The aerial photos taken on the raid showed the Japanese were building up forces in the area, transferring aircraft presumably from air bases on Hokkaido.
• 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.
• Eareckson Air Station (SYA) currently has only 1 runway.

Facts about Yonaguni Airport (OGN):

• Because of Yonaguni Airport's relatively low elevation of 49 feet, planes can take off or land at Yonaguni 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.
• Yonaguni Airport (OGN) currently has only 1 runway.
• In addition to being known as "Yonaguni Airport", other names for OGN include "Yonaguni Jima Airport", "与那国空港" and "Yonaguni Kūkō".
• The closest airport to Yonaguni Airport (OGN) is Hateruma Airport (HTR), which is located 59 miles (95 kilometers) ESE of OGN.
• The furthest airport from Yonaguni Airport (OGN) is Silvio Pettirossi International Airport (ASU), which is nearly antipodal to Yonaguni Airport (meaning Yonaguni Airport is almost on the exact opposite side of the Earth from Silvio Pettirossi International Airport), and is located 12,375 miles (19,916 kilometers) away in Asunción, Paraguay.