Nonstop flight route between Fagernes, Norway and Shemya, Alaska, United States:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Fagernes Airport, Leirin (VDB), Fagernes, Norway and Eareckson Air Station (SYA), Shemya, Alaska, United States would travel a Great Circle distance of 4,535 miles (or 7,298 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 Fagernes Airport, Leirin 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 Fagernes Airport, Leirin 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 Fagernes Airport, Leirin (VDB):

• Coast Air continued to provide a service until 1 August 1996, when Fagernes became a trial for the use of public service obligations for regional aviation in Norway.
• From 1 April 2003, the contract was taken over by Coast Air, who put Jetstream 31 aircraft into use.
• In addition to being known as "Fagernes Airport, Leirin", another name for VDB is "Fagernes lufthavn, Leirin".
• Plans for an airport at Fagernes were initiated in 1975, and approved by the Norwegian Parliament in 1984, along with three other regional airports, at Rørvik, Mosjøen and Førde Airport, Bringeland.
• The furthest airport from Fagernes Airport, Leirin (VDB) is Chatham Islands (CHT), which is located 11,225 miles (18,064 kilometers) away in Waitangi, Chatham Islands, New Zealand.
• The closest airport to Fagernes Airport, Leirin (VDB) is Gol Airport, Klanten (GLL), which is located only 17 miles (28 kilometers) SSW of VDB.
• Fagernes Airport, Leirin handled 7,661 passengers last year.

Facts about Eareckson Air Station (SYA):

• 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.
• Eareckson Air Station (SYA) currently has only 1 runway.
• 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.
• 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 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 "  ".
• Additional aircraft and personnel reductions occurred in 1945 and almost all air bases other than Alexi Point, Shemya and Davis in the Aleutians were reduced to caretaker status.
• Shemya also continued to support the Great Circle Route for MATS and later Military Airlift Command transports between Japan and Elmendorf AFB.
• It also became a Strategic Air Command refueling site for B-52 Stratofortress bombers and KC-135 tankers as part of Operation Chrome Dome.
• 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 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.