Nonstop flight route between Vitoria-Gasteiz, Spain and Shemya, Alaska, United States:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Vitoria-Gasteiz Airport (VIT), Vitoria-Gasteiz, Spain and Eareckson Air Station (SYA), Shemya, Alaska, United States would travel a Great Circle distance of 5,829 miles (or 9,381 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 Vitoria-Gasteiz 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 Vitoria-Gasteiz 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 Vitoria-Gasteiz Airport (VIT):

• The closest airport to Vitoria-Gasteiz Airport (VIT) is Bilbao Airport (BIO), which is located 30 miles (49 kilometers) NNW of VIT.
• The furthest airport from Vitoria-Gasteiz Airport (VIT) is Hood Aerodrome (MRO), which is nearly antipodal to Vitoria-Gasteiz Airport (meaning Vitoria-Gasteiz Airport is almost on the exact opposite side of the Earth from Hood Aerodrome), and is located 12,280 miles (19,763 kilometers) away in Masterton, New Zealand.
• Vitoria-Gasteiz Airport (VIT) currently has only 1 runway.

Facts about Eareckson Air Station (SYA):

• It also became a Strategic Air Command refueling site for B-52 Stratofortress bombers and KC-135 tankers as part of Operation Chrome Dome.
• 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.
• 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.
• In addition to being known as "Eareckson Air Station", other names for SYA include "Shemya Air Force Base", "Shemya Army Airfield" and "  ".
• 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.
• 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.
• 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.
• Eareckson Air Station (SYA) currently has only 1 runway.