Nonstop flight route between Upington, South Africa and Shemya, Alaska, United States:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Upington Airport (UTN), Upington, South Africa and Eareckson Air Station (SYA), Shemya, Alaska, United States would travel a Great Circle distance of 10,260 miles (or 16,512 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 Upington 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 Upington 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 Upington Airport (UTN):

• Upington Airport (UTN) has 3 runways.
• Planning is also under way at Upington Airport to construct a facility for the long-term parking of mothballed aircraft.
• Upington Airport's runway was built to accommodate a Boeing 747 with a full load of passengers, cargo and fuel, so that it could take off for Europe without having to stop along the way.
• Upington Airport was opened in 1968 as Pierre van Ryneveld Airport.
• With the fall of the Portuguese regime in Angola, South African Airways lost its landing rights in Luanda.
• The furthest airport from Upington Airport (UTN) is Princeville Airport (HPV), which is nearly antipodal to Upington Airport (meaning Upington Airport is almost on the exact opposite side of the Earth from Princeville Airport), and is located 12,007 miles (19,323 kilometers) away in Hanalei, Hawaii, United States.
• The closest airport to Upington Airport (UTN) is Johan Pienaar Airport (KMH), which is located 147 miles (236 kilometers) ENE of UTN.

Facts about Eareckson Air Station (SYA):

• 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.
• Eareckson Air Station (SYA) currently has only 1 runway.
• 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.
• With the exception of a small station housekeeping unit, Shemya was abandoned after the war.
• 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.
• The limited resources assigned to the Eleventh Air Force meant only a limited number of missions could be carried out over the Kuriles.
• In August 1988, at least one Aries rocket was launched, relating to the Queen Match program, for anti-ballistic missile testing.
• In addition to being known as "Eareckson Air Station", other names for SYA include "Shemya Air Force Base", "Shemya Army Airfield" and "  ".