Nonstop flight route between Tauranga, New Zealand and Shemya, Alaska, United States:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Tauranga Airport (TRG), Tauranga, New Zealand and Eareckson Air Station (SYA), Shemya, Alaska, United States would travel a Great Circle distance of 6,246 miles (or 10,052 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 Tauranga 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 Tauranga 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 Tauranga Airport (TRG):

• Tauranga airport is the fifth busiest airport in New Zealand in terms of aircraft movements, with 86,935 movements during 2010.
• The furthest airport from Tauranga Airport (TRG) is Granada Airport (GRX), which is nearly antipodal to Tauranga Airport (meaning Tauranga Airport is almost on the exact opposite side of the Earth from Granada Airport), and is located 12,403 miles (19,961 kilometers) away in Granada, Spain.
• In 2010 the airport started an expansion of the terminal that took 6 months.
• Because of Tauranga Airport's relatively low elevation of 13 feet, planes can take off or land at Tauranga 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.
• Tauranga Airport (TRG) has 4 runways.
• Tauranga Airport was acquired by the NZ Government from the traditional Maori land owners during World War 2 for defensive purposes.
• The closest airport to Tauranga Airport (TRG) is Matamata Airport (MTA), which is located 25 miles (41 kilometers) W of TRG.

Facts about Eareckson Air Station (SYA):

• On 6 April 1993, Shemya Air Force Base was renamed Eareckson Air Station.
• The limited resources assigned to the Eleventh Air Force meant only a limited number of missions could be carried out over the Kuriles.
• In July 1973, Raytheon won a contract to build a system called COBRA DANE on Shemya.
• 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.
• 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.
• Eareckson Air Station (SYA) currently has only 1 runway.
• 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.
• 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.
• The mission of Eleventh Air Force was to take advantage of the new airfields on Shemya and Attu, and carry out offensive operations against the enemy forces in the Kuriles.
• 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.
• Eareckson Air Station is located on the western tip of Alaska's Aleutian islands near the larger island of Attu, and is located approximately 1500 miles southwest of Anchorage.