Nonstop flight route between Santa Cruz, Bolivia and Shemya, Alaska, United States:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Viru Viru International Airport (VVI), Santa Cruz, Bolivia and Eareckson Air Station (SYA), Shemya, Alaska, United States would travel a Great Circle distance of 8,540 miles (or 13,744 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 Viru Viru International 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 Viru Viru International 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 Viru Viru International Airport (VVI):

• Viru Viru International Airport (VVI) currently has only 1 runway.
• On 1 March 1997 the Government of Bolivia entered into a 25-year contract with Airport Group International to operate the three largest airports in Bolivia – El Alto International Airport in La Paz, Jorge Wilstermann International Airport in Cochabamba and Viru Viru International Airport.
• The furthest airport from Viru Viru International Airport (VVI) is San Fernando Airport (SFE), which is nearly antipodal to Viru Viru International Airport (meaning Viru Viru International Airport is almost on the exact opposite side of the Earth from San Fernando Airport), and is located 12,198 miles (19,631 kilometers) away in San Fernando City, La Union, Philippines.
• The closest airport to Viru Viru International Airport (VVI) is El Trompillo Airport (SRZ), which is located only 12 miles (19 kilometers) SSW of VVI.

Facts about Eareckson Air Station (SYA):

• 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 spring of 1944 brought improving weather and the B-24s and PV-1s to fly more missions over the Kuriles.
• 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 "  ".
• Eareckson Air Station (SYA) currently has only 1 runway.
• The mission of Eleventh Air Force was to take advantage of the new airfields on Shemya and Attu, and carry out offensive operations against the enemy forces in the Kuriles.
• 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.
• It also became a Strategic Air Command refueling site for B-52 Stratofortress bombers and KC-135 tankers as part of Operation Chrome Dome.