Nonstop flight route between Comayagua, Honduras and Shemya, Alaska, United States:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Soto Cano Air Base (XPL), Comayagua, Honduras and Eareckson Air Station (SYA), Shemya, Alaska, United States would travel a Great Circle distance of 5,769 miles (or 9,284 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 Soto Cano Air Base 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 Soto Cano Air Base 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 Soto Cano Air Base (XPL):

• The furthest airport from Soto Cano Air Base (XPL) is Cocos (Keeling) Island Airport (CCK), which is nearly antipodal to Soto Cano Air Base (meaning Soto Cano Air Base is almost on the exact opposite side of the Earth from Cocos (Keeling) Island Airport), and is located 12,101 miles (19,475 kilometers) away in Cocos Islands, Australia.
• As of January 2008, all 44 of the apartment buildings were finished and already occupied.
• Soto Cano Air Base (XPL) currently has only 1 runway.
• The US government once used Palmerola as a base of operations to support their foreign policy objectives in the 1980s.
• The closest airport to Soto Cano Air Base (XPL) is Marcala Airport (MRJ), which is located 32 miles (51 kilometers) WSW of XPL.
• In 1990 Honduran President Rafael Leonardo Callejas decreed that commercial cargo flights were authorized to operate from Soto Cano.
• In addition to the Honduran Air Force Academy, the US military's Joint Task Force Bravo is headquartered at Soto Cano.
• The hooches and metal barracks have no running water.
• The American contingent at Soto Cano Air Base is designated Joint Task Force-Bravo and consists of both U.S.

Facts about Eareckson Air Station (SYA):

• The station was also used by SAC Cobra Ball and other related projects which monitored missile-associated signals and tracks missiles during boost and re-entry phases to provide reconnaissance for treaty verification and theater ballistic missile proliferation.
• In addition to being known as "Eareckson Air Station", other names for SYA include "Shemya Air Force Base", "Shemya Army Airfield" and "  ".
• 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.
• 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.
• Eareckson Air Station (SYA) currently has only 1 runway.
• 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.
• Shemya also continued to support the Great Circle Route for MATS and later Military Airlift Command transports between Japan and Elmendorf AFB.
• 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.