Nonstop flight route between Takamatsu, Kagawa, Japan and Shemya, Alaska, United States:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Takamatsu Airport (TAK), Takamatsu, Kagawa, Japan and Eareckson Air Station (SYA), Shemya, Alaska, United States would travel a Great Circle distance of 2,338 miles (or 3,763 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 relatively short distance between Takamatsu Airport and Eareckson Air Station, the route shown on this map most likely still appears to be a straight line.

Departure Airport Information:

Arrival Airport Information:

Facts about Takamatsu Airport (TAK):

• The closest airport to Takamatsu Airport (TAK) is Okayama Airport (OKJ), which is located 39 miles (62 kilometers) NNW of TAK.
• In addition to being known as "Takamatsu Airport", other names for TAK include "高松空港" and "Takamatsu Kūkō".
• On January 16, 2013, an All Nippon Airways Boeing 787 made an emergency landing at Takamatsu after reporting a battery problem in flight.
• Because of Takamatsu Airport's relatively low elevation of 607 feet, planes can take off or land at Takamatsu 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.
• The furthest airport from Takamatsu Airport (TAK) is Rio Grande Regional Airport (RIG), which is nearly antipodal to Takamatsu Airport (meaning Takamatsu Airport is almost on the exact opposite side of the Earth from Rio Grande Regional Airport), and is located 12,050 miles (19,393 kilometers) away in Rio Grande, Brazil.
• Takamatsu Airport (TAK) currently has only 1 runway.

Facts about Eareckson Air Station (SYA):

• 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.
• There is also an NDB, TACAN and a VOR on the island.
• The base host squadron was re-designated the 5073rd Air Base Squadron on October 1962, and upgraded to a group on 15 October 1974 in recognition of the number and complexities of the tenant units it supported.
• Eareckson Air Station (SYA) currently has only 1 runway.
• In addition to being known as "Eareckson Air Station", other names for SYA include "Shemya Air Force Base", "Shemya Army Airfield" and "  ".
• Shemya has been the scene of two major earthquakes.
• The news of the surrender of the Japanese was met with enthusiasm, the biggest topic was "When do we go home?".
• 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.
• 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.
• A second attack by B-24 Liberators was launched from Alexai Point and Shemya on 18 July.
• After the disastrous attack, the focus of Eleventh Air Force was shifted to a defensive posture in the event of retaliatory attacks from the Japanese.
• 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.