Nonstop flight route between Kelowna, British Columbia, Canada and Shemya, Alaska, United States:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Kelowna International Airport (YLW), Kelowna, British Columbia, Canada and Eareckson Air Station (SYA), Shemya, Alaska, United States would travel a Great Circle distance of 2,774 miles (or 4,464 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 Kelowna 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 Kelowna 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 Kelowna International Airport (YLW):

• Kelowna International Airport handled 1,440,952 passengers last year.
• The airport is serviced by Kelowna Regional Route 23 and Vernon Regional Route 90 buses, which connect Vernon and Lake Country with UBC Okanagan Exchange in Kelowna.
• The single runway airport operates scheduled air service to the major hub airports of Vancouver, Toronto, Calgary, Edmonton, Victoria, Los Angeles, and Seattle, as well as less frequent seasonal service to Cancún, Puerto Vallarta, Los Cabos, Phoenix, and Las Vegas.
• Kelowna International Airport (YLW) currently has only 1 runway.
• The closest airport to Kelowna International Airport (YLW) is Vernon Regional Airport (YVE), which is located 20 miles (32 kilometers) N of YLW.
• The furthest airport from Kelowna International Airport (YLW) is Tôlanaro Airport (FTU), which is located 10,566 miles (17,004 kilometers) away in Tôlanaro, Madagascar.

Facts about Eareckson Air Station (SYA):

• Shemya has been the scene of two major earthquakes.
• 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 addition to being known as "Eareckson Air Station", other names for SYA include "Shemya Air Force Base", "Shemya Army Airfield" and "  ".
• On 10 July 1943, eight B-25 Mitchells from the 77th Bombardment Squadron left Adak AAF and refueled at Alexai Point AAF on Attu.
• 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.
• With the exception of a small station housekeeping unit, Shemya was abandoned after the war.
• 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 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 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.
• Eareckson Air Station (SYA) currently has only 1 runway.