Nonstop flight route between Shemya, Alaska, United States and Fagernes, Norway:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Eareckson Air Station (SYA), Shemya, Alaska, United States and Fagernes Airport, Leirin (VDB), Fagernes, Norway would travel a Great Circle distance of 4,535 miles (or 7,298 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 Fagernes Airport, Leirin, 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 Fagernes Airport, Leirin. 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 is a United States Air Force military airport located on the island of Shemya, in the Alaskan Aleutian Islands.
• Eareckson Air Station (SYA) currently has only 1 runway.
• 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 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.
• With the exception of a small station housekeeping unit, Shemya was abandoned after the war.
• In addition to being known as "Eareckson Air Station", other names for SYA include "Shemya Air Force Base", "Shemya Army Airfield" and "  ".
• The aerial photos taken on the raid showed the Japanese were building up forces in the area, transferring aircraft presumably from air bases on Hokkaido.
• 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.
• 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.
• 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.

Facts about Fagernes Airport, Leirin (VDB):

• From 1 April 2003, the contract was taken over by Coast Air, who put Jetstream 31 aircraft into use.
• Fagernes is an international airport with a 1,800-square-metre terminal building which includes immigration and customs clearing facilities, a self-serve cafeteria, duty-free store and several car rentals.
• The closest airport to Fagernes Airport, Leirin (VDB) is Gol Airport, Klanten (GLL), which is located only 17 miles (28 kilometers) SSW of VDB.
• The furthest airport from Fagernes Airport, Leirin (VDB) is Chatham Islands (CHT), which is located 11,225 miles (18,064 kilometers) away in Waitangi, Chatham Islands, New Zealand.
• In addition to being known as "Fagernes Airport, Leirin", another name for VDB is "Fagernes lufthavn, Leirin".
• Norsk Air started a route from Fagernes to Oslo Airport, Fornebu, and Bergen Airport, Flesland, on 4 November 1987, using Embraer EMB 120 Brasilia aircraft.
• Fagernes Airport, Leirin handled 7,661 passengers last year.
• The Danish company Dot Lt provides a scheduled service from Fagernes to Oslo Airport, Gardermoen throughout the year.