Nonstop flight route between Fort Simpson, Northwest Territories, Canada and Shemya, Alaska, United States:
Departure Airport:

Arrival Airport:

Distance from YFS to SYA:
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- About this route
- YFS Airport Information
- SYA Airport Information
- Facts about YFS
- Facts about SYA
- Map of Nearest Airports to YFS
- List of Nearest Airports to YFS
- Map of Furthest Airports from YFS
- List of Furthest Airports from YFS
- 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 Fort Simpson Airport (YFS), Fort Simpson, Northwest Territories, Canada and Eareckson Air Station (SYA), Shemya, Alaska, United States would travel a Great Circle distance of 2,387 miles (or 3,842 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 relatively short distance between Fort Simpson Airport and Eareckson Air Station, the route shown on this map most likely still appears to be a straight line.
Departure Airport Information:
IATA / ICAO Codes: | YFS / CYFS |
Airport Name: | Fort Simpson Airport |
Location: | Fort Simpson, Northwest Territories, Canada |
GPS Coordinates: | 61°45'37"N by 121°14'12"W |
Operator/Owner: | Government of the Northwest Territories |
Elevation: | 556 feet (169 meters) |
# of Runways: | 1 |
View all routes: | Routes from YFS |
More Information: | YFS Maps & Info |
Arrival Airport Information:
IATA / ICAO Codes: | SYA / PASY |
Airport Names: |
|
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 Fort Simpson Airport (YFS):
- Because of Fort Simpson Airport's relatively low elevation of 556 feet, planes can take off or land at Fort Simpson 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.
- The closest airport to Fort Simpson Airport (YFS) is Wrigley Airport (YWY), which is located 122 miles (197 kilometers) NW of YFS.
- Fort Simpson Airport (YFS) currently has only 1 runway.
- The furthest airport from Fort Simpson Airport (YFS) is Port Alfred Airport (AFD), which is located 10,037 miles (16,152 kilometers) away in Port Alfred, South Africa.
Facts about Eareckson Air Station (SYA):
- With the exception of a small station housekeeping unit, Shemya was abandoned after the war.
- There is also an NDB, TACAN and a VOR on the island.
- 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.
- 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.
- 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.
- The aerial photos taken on the raid showed the Japanese were building up forces in the area, transferring aircraft presumably from air bases on Hokkaido.
- 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.
- In July 1973, Raytheon won a contract to build a system called COBRA DANE on Shemya.
- Shemya also continued to support the Great Circle Route for MATS and later Military Airlift Command transports between Japan and Elmendorf AFB.
- 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.