Nonstop flight route between Tidjikja, Mauritania and Shemya, Alaska, United States:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Tidjikja Airport (TIY), Tidjikja, Mauritania and Eareckson Air Station (SYA), Shemya, Alaska, United States would travel a Great Circle distance of 7,500 miles (or 12,071 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 Tidjikja 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 Tidjikja 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 Tidjikja Airport (TIY):

• The closest airport to Tidjikja Airport (TIY) is Letfotar Airport (MOM), which is located 91 miles (146 kilometers) SW of TIY.
• The furthest airport from Tidjikja Airport (TIY) is Dillon's Bay Airport (DLY), which is nearly antipodal to Tidjikja Airport (meaning Tidjikja Airport is almost on the exact opposite side of the Earth from Dillon's Bay Airport), and is located 12,406 miles (19,965 kilometers) away in Dillon's Bay, Erromango, Taféa, Vanuatu.
• Tidjikja Airport (TIY) currently has only 1 runway.

Facts about Eareckson Air Station (SYA):

• The Korean War brought extensive use by the Military Air Transport Service for the logistical support of Korea and Japan.
• 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.
• Shemya also continued to support the Great Circle Route for MATS and later Military Airlift Command transports between Japan and Elmendorf AFB.
• The spring of 1944 brought improving weather and the B-24s and PV-1s to fly more missions over the Kuriles.
• 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.
• There is also an NDB, TACAN and a VOR on the island.
• 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.
• On 6 April 1993, Shemya Air Force Base was renamed Eareckson Air Station.
• With the successful completion of the Aleutian Campaign in August 1943, Eleventh Air Force came within striking distance of the Japanese Kurile Islands, the northernmost being 750 miles to the south-southwest of Shemya.
• In addition to being known as "Eareckson Air Station", other names for SYA include "Shemya Air Force Base", "Shemya Army Airfield" and "  ".
• 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.