Nonstop flight route between Shemya, Alaska, United States and Tangshan, Hebei, China:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Eareckson Air Station (SYA), Shemya, Alaska, United States and Tangshan Sannühe Airport (TVS), Tangshan, Hebei, China would travel a Great Circle distance of 2,750 miles (or 4,426 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 Tangshan Sannühe 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 Tangshan Sannühe 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.
• Eareckson Air Station is a United States Air Force military airport located on the island of Shemya, in the Alaskan Aleutian Islands.
• Shemya also continued to support the Great Circle Route for MATS and later Military Airlift Command transports between Japan and Elmendorf AFB.
• In 1966 the Air Defense Command 9th Air Division assumed jurisdiction of the base.
• In addition to being known as "Eareckson Air Station", other names for SYA include "Shemya Air Force Base", "Shemya Army Airfield" and "  ".
• 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 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.
• By August, Eleventh Air Force B-24s were carrying out successful and accurate attacks on the Japanese military installations and the B-25s were successful in driving the Japanese fishing and much of the shipping out of the North Pacific.
• 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.
• 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 6 April 1993, Shemya Air Force Base was renamed Eareckson Air Station.
• Eareckson Air Station (SYA) currently has only 1 runway.

Facts about Tangshan Sannühe Airport (TVS):

• The closest airport to Tangshan Sannühe Airport (TVS) is Tianjin Binhai International Airport (TSN), which is located 54 miles (87 kilometers) SW of TVS.
• In addition to being known as "Tangshan Sannühe Airport", other names for TVS include "唐山三女河机场", "Tángshān Sānnǚhé Jīchǎng" and "ZBTS".
• The furthest airport from Tangshan Sannühe Airport (TVS) is Comandante Espora Airport (BHI), which is nearly antipodal to Tangshan Sannühe Airport (meaning Tangshan Sannühe Airport is almost on the exact opposite side of the Earth from Comandante Espora Airport), and is located 12,367 miles (19,903 kilometers) away in Bahía Blanca, Buenos Aires Province, Argentina.
• Tangshan Sannühe Airport handled 109,000 passengers last year.