Nonstop flight route between Vaasa, Finland and Shemya, Alaska, United States:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Vaasa Airport (VAA), Vaasa, Finland and Eareckson Air Station (SYA), Shemya, Alaska, United States would travel a Great Circle distance of 4,300 miles (or 6,920 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 Vaasa 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 Vaasa 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 Vaasa Airport (VAA):

• Vaasa Airport (VAA) currently has only 1 runway.
• The furthest airport from Vaasa Airport (VAA) is Chatham Islands (CHT), which is located 10,923 miles (17,579 kilometers) away in Waitangi, Chatham Islands, New Zealand.
• The closest airport to Vaasa Airport (VAA) is Kauhava Airport (KAU), which is located 41 miles (65 kilometers) E of VAA.
• In addition to being known as "Vaasa Airport", another name for VAA is "Vaasan lentoasemaVasa flygplats".
• Vaasa Airport handled 288,142 passengers last year.
• Because of Vaasa Airport's relatively low elevation of 19 feet, planes can take off or land at Vaasa 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):

• 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 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.
• A second attack by B-24 Liberators was launched from Alexai Point and Shemya on 18 July.
• In addition to being known as "Eareckson Air Station", other names for SYA include "Shemya Air Force Base", "Shemya Army Airfield" and "  ".
• It also became a Strategic Air Command refueling site for B-52 Stratofortress bombers and KC-135 tankers as part of Operation Chrome Dome.
• Eareckson Air Station (SYA) currently has only 1 runway.
• Shemya has been the scene of two major earthquakes.
• The limited resources assigned to the Eleventh Air Force meant only a limited number of missions could be carried out over the Kuriles.