Nonstop flight route between Shemya, Alaska, United States and Olympia, Washington, United States:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Eareckson Air Station (SYA), Shemya, Alaska, United States and Olympia Regional Airport (OLM), Olympia, Washington, United States would travel a Great Circle distance of 2,743 miles (or 4,415 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 Olympia Regional 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 Olympia Regional 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 closest airport to Eareckson Air Station (SYA) is Casco Cove Coast Guard Station (ATU), which is located 40 miles (65 kilometers) WNW of SYA.
• In August, after the Soviet Union declared war against the Japanese Empire, B-24s were dispatched on reconnaissance and intelligence-gathering missions to observe the Russian activity in the Kuriles.
• In addition to being known as "Eareckson Air Station", other names for SYA include "Shemya Air Force Base", "Shemya Army Airfield" and "  ".
• 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.
• Shemya has been the scene of two major earthquakes.
• The spring of 1944 brought improving weather and the B-24s and PV-1s to fly more missions over the Kuriles.
• 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.
• On 6 April 1993, Shemya Air Force Base was renamed Eareckson Air Station.
• In July 1973, Raytheon won a contract to build a system called COBRA DANE on 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.
• 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.

Facts about Olympia Regional Airport (OLM):

• The field is home to flight instruction, both fixed wing and helicopter, major oxygen and aircraft maintenance facilities, the Washington State Patrol aviation division, and a key navigational aid for commercial flights inbound to Seattle-Tacoma International Airport and general aviation aircraft in the region.
• Olympia Regional Airport (OLM) has 2 runways.
• The furthest airport from Olympia Regional Airport (OLM) is Tôlanaro Airport (FTU), which is located 10,822 miles (17,417 kilometers) away in Tôlanaro, Madagascar.
• The airport served as a satellite of nearby McChord Field during World War II, and commercial aviation history at the Olympia Airport extends to the 1920s.
• Olympia Regional Airport is a public use airport located four nautical miles south of the central business district of Olympia, a city in Thurston County and the capital of the U.S.
• An FAA funded $15 million improvement project to make the airport a safer facility was completed in September, 2008, focusing on runway line-of-sight improvements and enhanced signage.
• Because of Olympia Regional Airport's relatively low elevation of 209 feet, planes can take off or land at Olympia Regional 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 closest airport to Olympia Regional Airport (OLM) is Gray Army Airfield (GRF), which is located only 17 miles (27 kilometers) ENE of OLM.
• In addition to being known as "Olympia Regional Airport", another name for OLM is "Olympia Army Airfield".