Nonstop flight route between Whakatane, New Zealand and Shemya, Alaska, United States:
Departure Airport:
Arrival Airport:
Distance from WHK to SYA:
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- About this route
- WHK Airport Information
- SYA Airport Information
- Facts about WHK
- Facts about SYA
- Map of Nearest Airports to WHK
- List of Nearest Airports to WHK
- Map of Furthest Airports from WHK
- List of Furthest Airports from WHK
- 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 Whakatane Airport (WHK), Whakatane, New Zealand and Eareckson Air Station (SYA), Shemya, Alaska, United States would travel a Great Circle distance of 6,264 miles (or 10,082 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 Whakatane 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 Whakatane 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: | WHK / NZWK |
Airport Name: | Whakatane Airport |
Location: | Whakatane, New Zealand |
GPS Coordinates: | 37°55'14"S by 176°54'51"E |
Elevation: | 20 feet (6 meters) |
# of Runways: | 2 |
View all routes: | Routes from WHK |
More Information: | WHK Maps & Info |
Arrival Airport Information:
IATA / ICAO Codes: | SYA / PASY |
Airport Names: |
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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 Whakatane Airport (WHK):
- The closest airport to Whakatane Airport (WHK) is Rotorua International Airport (ROT), which is located 35 miles (56 kilometers) WSW of WHK.
- The furthest airport from Whakatane Airport (WHK) is Granada Airport (GRX), which is nearly antipodal to Whakatane Airport (meaning Whakatane Airport is almost on the exact opposite side of the Earth from Granada Airport), and is located 12,374 miles (19,913 kilometers) away in Granada, Spain.
- Whakatane Airport (WHK) has 2 runways.
- Because of Whakatane Airport's relatively low elevation of 20 feet, planes can take off or land at Whakatane 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):
- 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.
- 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.
- 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.
- In August, after the Soviet Union declared war against the Japanese Empire, B-24s were dispatched on reconnaissance and intelligence-gathering missions to observe the Russian activity in the Kuriles.
- Eareckson Air Station (SYA) currently has only 1 runway.
- In addition to being known as "Eareckson Air Station", other names for SYA include "Shemya Air Force Base", "Shemya Army Airfield" and " ".