Nonstop flight route between Shemya, Alaska, United States and Vigo, Galicia, Spain:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Eareckson Air Station (SYA), Shemya, Alaska, United States and Vigo Airport (VGO), Vigo, Galicia, Spain would travel a Great Circle distance of 5,875 miles (or 9,455 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 Vigo 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 Vigo 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 addition to being known as "Eareckson Air Station", other names for SYA include "Shemya Air Force Base", "Shemya Army Airfield" and "  ".
• On 6 April 1993, Shemya Air Force Base was renamed Eareckson Air Station.
• Eareckson Air Station (SYA) currently has only 1 runway.
• 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.
• With the exception of a small station housekeeping unit, Shemya was abandoned after the war.
• 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.
• 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.
• 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.
• In July 1973, Raytheon won a contract to build a system called COBRA DANE on Shemya.
• The 404th Bombardment Squadron flew B-24 Liberator heavy bombers along with one Beechcraft AT-7, which was used for navigator training.
• 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 Vigo Airport (VGO):

• Because of Vigo Airport's relatively low elevation of 855 feet, planes can take off or land at Vigo 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.
• In addition to being known as "Vigo Airport", other names for VGO include "Aeropuerto de Vigo" and "Aeroporto de Vigo".
• Vigo Airport (VGO) currently has only 1 runway.
• The 1970s increment of traffic led to a further development plan, including the construction in 1973 of a new control tower, a new passenger terminal in 1974, in 1975 an independent power plant and in 1976 the apron space and parking places were both increased and taxiways widened.
• In late May 2007, the Board of Aena awarded the construction of the "Vehicle Parking Building, Construction and Technical Block Vigo airport, Dragados SA for an amount of 38,266,145 euros and an execution period of 28 months.
• Vigo Airport handled 828,725 passengers last year.
• The closest airport to Vigo Airport (VGO) is Braga Airport (BGZ), which is located 45 miles (73 kilometers) SSE of VGO.
• The furthest airport from Vigo Airport (VGO) is Greymouth Airport (GMN), which is nearly antipodal to Vigo Airport (meaning Vigo Airport is almost on the exact opposite side of the Earth from Greymouth Airport), and is located 12,418 miles (19,985 kilometers) away in Greymouth, New Zealand.