Nonstop flight route between Shemya, Alaska, United States and Warsaw, Poland:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Eareckson Air Station (SYA), Shemya, Alaska, United States and Warsaw Chopin Airport (WAW), Warsaw, Poland would travel a Great Circle distance of 5,025 miles (or 8,087 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 Warsaw Chopin 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 Warsaw Chopin 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):

• Shemya also continued to support the Great Circle Route for MATS and later Military Airlift Command transports between Japan and Elmendorf AFB.
• 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 closest airport to Eareckson Air Station (SYA) is Casco Cove Coast Guard Station (ATU), which is located 40 miles (65 kilometers) WNW of SYA.
• 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.
• There is also an NDB, TACAN and a VOR on the island.
• 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.
• Eareckson Air Station (SYA) currently has only 1 runway.
• On 10 July 1943, eight B-25 Mitchells from the 77th Bombardment Squadron left Adak AAF and refueled at Alexai Point AAF on Attu.
• In addition to being known as "Eareckson Air Station", other names for SYA include "Shemya Air Force Base", "Shemya Army Airfield" and "  ".
• It also became a Strategic Air Command refueling site for B-52 Stratofortress bombers and KC-135 tankers as part of Operation Chrome Dome.
• 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 Warsaw Chopin Airport (WAW):

• Warsaw Chopin Airport (WAW) has 2 runways.
• Because of Warsaw Chopin Airport's relatively low elevation of 361 feet, planes can take off or land at Warsaw Chopin 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 "Warsaw Chopin Airport", another name for WAW is "Lotnisko Chopina w Warszawie".
• On 25 November 2013, the airport announced accommodating – for the first time in history – its 10 millionth passenger in a single year.
• Warsaw Chopin Airport handled 10,683,706 passengers last year.
• A rail link has been recently built at a cost of 230 million złoty to connect the airport's Warsaw Chopin Airport railway station to the Warsaw city centre.
• The closest airport to Warsaw Chopin Airport (WAW) is Historic Centre of Warsaw (WRW), which is located only 5 miles (8 kilometers) NNE of WAW.
• In 1924, when urban development around Warsaw's aerodrome at Mokotów Fields began affecting air traffic, the Ministry of Railways purchased land near the village of Okęcie to construct a new airport.
• The furthest airport from Warsaw Chopin Airport (WAW) is Chatham Islands (CHT), which is located 11,450 miles (18,426 kilometers) away in Waitangi, Chatham Islands, New Zealand.
• It was only in 1990, after the fall of communism, that a new terminal started to be built at Okęcie.
• By the end of the 1940s, the airport had been reconnected with most of Poland's most important cities and a number of international services, including those to Belgrade, Berlin, Bucharest, Budapest, Brussels, Copenhagen, Prague and Stockholm.