Nonstop flight route between Shemya, Alaska, United States and Rovaniemi, Finland:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Eareckson Air Station (SYA), Shemya, Alaska, United States and Rovaniemi Airport (RVN), Rovaniemi, Finland would travel a Great Circle distance of 4,030 miles (or 6,486 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 Rovaniemi 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 Rovaniemi 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 1958, the Air Force resumed operations on Shemya in support of various Air Force and Army strategic intelligence collection activities.
• Eareckson Air Station (SYA) currently has only 1 runway.
• In addition to being known as "Eareckson Air Station", other names for SYA include "Shemya Air Force Base", "Shemya Army Airfield" and "  ".
• 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.
• 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.
• Jurisdiction of Shemya AFB was transferred from the Aerospace Defense Command to the Strategic Air Command when the former was inactivated on 1 October 1979.
• Shemya also continued to support the Great Circle Route for MATS and later Military Airlift Command transports between Japan and Elmendorf AFB.
• 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.

Facts about Rovaniemi Airport (RVN):

• Rovaniemi Airport (RVN) currently has only 1 runway.
• Rovaniemi Airport is the fifth largest airport in Finland.
• Because of Rovaniemi Airport's relatively low elevation of 642 feet, planes can take off or land at Rovaniemi 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 furthest airport from Rovaniemi Airport (RVN) is Chatham Islands (CHT), which is located 10,658 miles (17,152 kilometers) away in Waitangi, Chatham Islands, New Zealand.
• Rovaniemi Airport handled 309,821 passengers last year.
• The airport was built in 1940 with two grass-surfaced runways.
• In addition to being known as "Rovaniemi Airport", another name for RVN is "Rovaniemen lentoasema".
• In addition to civil traffic the runway is also used by F-18 fighter interceptors of Lapin lennosto.
• The closest airport to Rovaniemi Airport (RVN) is Kemi-Tornio Airport (KEM), which is located 64 miles (103 kilometers) SSW of RVN.