Nonstop flight route between Gaoua, Burkina Faso and Shemya, Alaska, United States:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Gaoua Airport (XGA), Gaoua, Burkina Faso and Eareckson Air Station (SYA), Shemya, Alaska, United States would travel a Great Circle distance of 8,074 miles (or 12,994 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 Gaoua 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 Gaoua 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 Gaoua Airport (XGA):

• The closest airport to Gaoua Airport (XGA) is Diébougou Airport (XDE), which is located 39 miles (64 kilometers) N of XGA.
• The furthest airport from Gaoua Airport (XGA) is Funafuti International Airport (FUN), which is nearly antipodal to Gaoua Airport (meaning Gaoua Airport is almost on the exact opposite side of the Earth from Funafuti International Airport), and is located 12,231 miles (19,684 kilometers) away in Funafuti, Tuvalu.
• Gaoua Airport (XGA) currently has only 1 runway.

Facts about Eareckson Air Station (SYA):

• There is also an NDB, TACAN and a VOR on the island.
• 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.
• 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.
• In July 1973, Raytheon won a contract to build a system called COBRA DANE on Shemya.
• The limited resources assigned to the Eleventh Air Force meant only a limited number of missions could be carried out over 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 "  ".
• 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.
• 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 closest airport to Eareckson Air Station (SYA) is Casco Cove Coast Guard Station (ATU), which is located 40 miles (65 kilometers) WNW of SYA.