Nonstop flight route between Shemya, Alaska, United States and San Luis Potosí, San Luis Potosí, México:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Eareckson Air Station (SYA), Shemya, Alaska, United States and Ponciano Arriaga International Airport (SLP), San Luis Potosí, San Luis Potosí, México would travel a Great Circle distance of 4,800 miles (or 7,725 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 Ponciano Arriaga International 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 Ponciano Arriaga International 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):

• 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.
• In addition to being known as "Eareckson Air Station", other names for SYA include "Shemya Air Force Base", "Shemya Army Airfield" and "  ".
• Eareckson Air Station (SYA) currently has only 1 runway.
• 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.
• 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.
• The station was also used by SAC Cobra Ball and other related projects which monitored missile-associated signals and tracks missiles during boost and re-entry phases to provide reconnaissance for treaty verification and theater ballistic missile proliferation.
• A second attack by B-24 Liberators was launched from Alexai Point and Shemya on 18 July.
• 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.
• Shemya also continued to support the Great Circle Route for MATS and later Military Airlift Command transports between Japan and Elmendorf AFB.
• 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 Ponciano Arriaga International Airport (SLP):

• Ponciano Arriaga International Airport (SLP) has 2 runways.
• The closest airport to Ponciano Arriaga International Airport (SLP) is Guanajuato International Airport (BJX), which is located 94 miles (151 kilometers) SSW of SLP.
• The furthest airport from Ponciano Arriaga International Airport (SLP) is Sir Gaëtan Duval Airport (RRG), which is located 11,410 miles (18,362 kilometers) away in Rodrigues Island, Mauritius.
• Because of Ponciano Arriaga International Airport's high elevation of 6,035 feet, planes must typically fly at a faster airspeed in order to takeoff or land at SLP. Combined with a high temperature, this could make SLP a "Hot & High" airport, where the air density is lower than it would otherwise be at sea level.