Nonstop flight route between Virgin Gorda, British Virgin Islands and Shemya, Alaska, United States:
Departure Airport:
Arrival Airport:
Distance from VIJ to SYA:
Share this route:
Jump to:
- About this route
- VIJ Airport Information
- SYA Airport Information
- Facts about VIJ
- Facts about SYA
- Map of Nearest Airports to VIJ
- List of Nearest Airports to VIJ
- Map of Furthest Airports from VIJ
- List of Furthest Airports from VIJ
- Map of Nearest Airports to SYA
- List of Nearest Airports to SYA
- Map of Furthest Airports from SYA
- List of Furthest Airports from SYA
About this route:
A direct, nonstop flight between Virgin Gorda Airport (VIJ), Virgin Gorda, British Virgin Islands and Eareckson Air Station (SYA), Shemya, Alaska, United States would travel a Great Circle distance of 6,409 miles (or 10,315 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 Virgin Gorda 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 Virgin Gorda 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:
IATA / ICAO Codes: | VIJ / TUPW |
Airport Name: | Virgin Gorda Airport |
Location: | Virgin Gorda, British Virgin Islands |
GPS Coordinates: | 18°26'44"N by 64°25'41"W |
Area Served: | Spanish Town, Virgin Gorda |
Operator/Owner: | BVIAA |
Airport Type: | Public |
Elevation: | 14 feet (4 meters) |
# of Runways: | 1 |
View all routes: | Routes from VIJ |
More Information: | VIJ Maps & Info |
Arrival Airport Information:
IATA / ICAO Codes: | SYA / PASY |
Airport Names: |
|
Location: | Shemya, Alaska, United States |
GPS Coordinates: | 52°42'43"N by 174°6'48"E |
Operator/Owner: | U.S. Air Force |
Airport Type: | Military |
Elevation: | 97 feet (30 meters) |
# of Runways: | 1 |
View all routes: | Routes from SYA |
More Information: | SYA Maps & Info |
Facts about Virgin Gorda Airport (VIJ):
- The closest airport to Virgin Gorda Airport (VIJ) is Terrance B. Lettsome International Airport (EIS), which is located only 8 miles (12 kilometers) E of VIJ.
- Virgin Gorda Airport (VIJ) currently has only 1 runway.
- The furthest airport from Virgin Gorda Airport (VIJ) is Barrow Island Airport (BWB), which is nearly antipodal to Virgin Gorda Airport (meaning Virgin Gorda Airport is almost on the exact opposite side of the Earth from Barrow Island Airport), and is located 12,269 miles (19,745 kilometers) away in Barrow Island, Western Australia, Australia.
- Because of Virgin Gorda Airport's relatively low elevation of 14 feet, planes can take off or land at Virgin Gorda 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.
- A second attack by B-24 Liberators was launched from Alexai Point and Shemya on 18 July.
- 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.
- 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.
- On 28 May 1943, a small detachment of Alaskan Scouts began reconnaissance of Shemya, a small, flat, uninhabited island 35 miles to the east of Attu.
- The news of the surrender of the Japanese was met with enthusiasm, the biggest topic was "When do we go home?".
- In addition to being known as "Eareckson Air Station", other names for SYA include "Shemya Air Force Base", "Shemya Army Airfield" and " ".
- 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.
- 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.
- In July 1973, Raytheon won a contract to build a system called COBRA DANE on Shemya.
- 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.