Nonstop flight route between Shemya, Alaska, United States and El Vigía, Venezuela:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Eareckson Air Station (SYA), Shemya, Alaska, United States and Juan Pablo Pérez Alfonso Airport (VIG), El Vigía, Venezuela would travel a Great Circle distance of 6,720 miles (or 10,815 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 Juan Pablo Pérez Alfonso 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 Juan Pablo Pérez Alfonso 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):

• 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.
• 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.
• There is also an NDB, TACAN and a VOR on the island.
• 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 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.
• It also became a Strategic Air Command refueling site for B-52 Stratofortress bombers and KC-135 tankers as part of Operation Chrome Dome.
• 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.

Facts about Juan Pablo Pérez Alfonso Airport (VIG):

• Because of Juan Pablo Pérez Alfonso Airport's relatively low elevation of 249 feet, planes can take off or land at Juan Pablo Pérez Alfonso 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.
• Juan Pablo Pérez Alfonso Airport (VIG) currently has only 1 runway.
• The closest airport to Juan Pablo Pérez Alfonso Airport (VIG) is Miguel Urdaneta Fernández Airport (STB), which is located 30 miles (49 kilometers) NW of VIG.
• The furthest airport from Juan Pablo Pérez Alfonso Airport (VIG) is Tunggul Wulung Airport (CXP), which is nearly antipodal to Juan Pablo Pérez Alfonso Airport (meaning Juan Pablo Pérez Alfonso Airport is almost on the exact opposite side of the Earth from Tunggul Wulung Airport), and is located 12,352 miles (19,879 kilometers) away in Cilacap, Java Island, Indonesia.