Nonstop flight route between Shemya, Alaska, United States and Hattiesburg/Laurel, Mississippi, United States:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Eareckson Air Station (SYA), Shemya, Alaska, United States and Hattiesburg–Laurel Regional Airport (PIB), Hattiesburg/Laurel, Mississippi, United States would travel a Great Circle distance of 4,776 miles (or 7,686 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 Hattiesburg–Laurel 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 Hattiesburg–Laurel 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):

• In addition to being known as "Eareckson Air Station", other names for SYA include "Shemya Air Force Base", "Shemya Army Airfield" and "  ".
• Shemya also continued to support the Great Circle Route for MATS and later Military Airlift Command transports between Japan and Elmendorf AFB.
• 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.
• Additional aircraft and personnel reductions occurred in 1945 and almost all air bases other than Alexi Point, Shemya and Davis in the Aleutians were reduced to caretaker status.
• 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.
• 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.
• On 1 April 1995, Eareckson AS was converted to contractor operations and maintenance, providing all support on the island.
• 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 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.
• Eareckson Air Station (SYA) currently has only 1 runway.
• 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.
• 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.

Facts about Hattiesburg–Laurel Regional Airport (PIB):

• Because of Hattiesburg–Laurel Regional Airport's relatively low elevation of 298 feet, planes can take off or land at Hattiesburg–Laurel 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.
• Hattiesburg–Laurel Regional Airport (PIB) currently has only 1 runway.
• In late 2011 the airport begin an extensive refurbishment of the main terminal building.
• Hattiesburg–Laurel Regional Airport, nicknamed Airport City, is a public airport located in Jones County, Mississippi.
• As per the Federal Aviation Administration, this airport had 12,576 passenger boardings in calendar year 2008, 12,972 in 2009, and 13,766 in 2010.
• The closest airport to Hattiesburg–Laurel Regional Airport (PIB) is Hattiesburg Bobby L. Chain Municipal Airport (HBG), which is located only 15 miles (24 kilometers) SSE of PIB.
• The furthest airport from Hattiesburg–Laurel Regional Airport (PIB) is Cocos (Keeling) Island Airport (CCK), which is located 11,048 miles (17,780 kilometers) away in Cocos Islands, Australia.