Nonstop flight route between Stornoway, Scotland, United Kingdom and Shemya, Alaska, United States:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Stornoway Airport (SYY), Stornoway, Scotland, United Kingdom and Eareckson Air Station (SYA), Shemya, Alaska, United States would travel a Great Circle distance of 4,772 miles (or 7,680 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 Stornoway Airport and Eareckson Air Station, 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 Stornoway Airport and Eareckson Air Station. 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 Stornoway Airport (SYY):

• In addition to being known as "Stornoway Airport", another name for SYY is "Port-Adhair Steòrnabhagh".
• Stornoway Airport (SYY) has 2 runways.
• The closest airport to Stornoway Airport (SYY) is Benbecula Airport (BEB), which is located 63 miles (102 kilometers) SW of SYY.
• Stornoway Airport handled 125,582 passengers last year.
• The furthest airport from Stornoway Airport (SYY) is Ryan's Creek Aerodrome (SZS), which is located 11,621 miles (18,703 kilometers) away in Stewart Island, New Zealand.
• Because of Stornoway Airport's relatively low elevation of 26 feet, planes can take off or land at Stornoway 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.

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 "  ".
• 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.
• 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.
• 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.
• 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.
• In 1966 the Air Defense Command 9th Air Division assumed jurisdiction of the base.
• Eareckson Air Station (SYA) currently has only 1 runway.
• A second attack by B-24 Liberators was launched from Alexai Point and Shemya on 18 July.
• 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.
• 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.