Nonstop flight route between Shemya, Alaska, United States and Polacca, Arizona, United States:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Eareckson Air Station (SYA), Shemya, Alaska, United States and Polacca Airport (PXL), Polacca, Arizona, United States would travel a Great Circle distance of 3,727 miles (or 5,998 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 Polacca 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 Polacca 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):

• 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.
• Eareckson Air Station (SYA) currently has only 1 runway.
• 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 base host squadron was re-designated the 5073rd Air Base Squadron on October 1962, and upgraded to a group on 15 October 1974 in recognition of the number and complexities of the tenant units it supported.
• 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.
• In 1958, the Air Force resumed operations on Shemya in support of various Air Force and Army strategic intelligence collection activities.
• On 6 April 1993, Shemya Air Force Base was renamed Eareckson Air Station.
• A second attack by B-24 Liberators was launched from Alexai Point and Shemya on 18 July.
• In addition to being known as "Eareckson Air Station", other names for SYA include "Shemya Air Force Base", "Shemya Army Airfield" and "  ".
• 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 Korean War brought extensive use by the Military Air Transport Service for the logistical support of Korea and Japan.
• 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 Polacca Airport (PXL):

• Because of Polacca Airport's high elevation of 5,573 feet, planes must typically fly at a faster airspeed in order to takeoff or land at PXL. Combined with a high temperature, this could make PXL a "Hot & High" airport, where the air density is lower than it would otherwise be at sea level.
• Polacca Airport is a public use airport in Navajo County, Arizona, United States.
• The furthest airport from Polacca Airport (PXL) is Sir Gaëtan Duval Airport (RRG), which is located 11,266 miles (18,131 kilometers) away in Rodrigues Island, Mauritius.
• In addition to being known as "Polacca Airport", another name for PXL is "P10".
• Polacca Airport (PXL) currently has only 1 runway.
• The closest airport to Polacca Airport (PXL) is Winslow-Lindbergh Regional AirportWinslow Municipal Airport (INW), which is located 56 miles (90 kilometers) SSW of PXL.