Nonstop flight route between Fort McMurray, Alberta, Canada and Shemya, Alaska, United States:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Fort McMurray International Airport (YMM), Fort McMurray, Alberta, Canada and Eareckson Air Station (SYA), Shemya, Alaska, United States would travel a Great Circle distance of 2,845 miles (or 4,578 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 Fort McMurray 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 Fort McMurray 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 Fort McMurray International Airport (YMM):

• The furthest airport from Fort McMurray International Airport (YMM) is Tôlanaro Airport (FTU), which is located 9,996 miles (16,087 kilometers) away in Tôlanaro, Madagascar.
• Fort McMurray International Airport handled 1,195,378 passengers last year.
• Bus service operates between the airport and downtown Fort McMurray via the Route 11 Airport Shuttle bus.
• Fort McMurray International Airport (YMM) currently has only 1 runway.
• The closest airport to Fort McMurray International Airport (YMM) is Buffalo Narrows Airport (YVT), which is located 121 miles (195 kilometers) ESE of YMM.
• The airport is nearing completion of the new international terminal building which will open on June 9, 2014.

Facts about Eareckson Air Station (SYA):

• Shemya also continued to support the Great Circle Route for MATS and later Military Airlift Command transports between Japan and Elmendorf AFB.
• By the end of 1944, several hundred American airmen had been interned by the Russians after their crippled aircraft landed on Petropavlovsk on the Kamchatka Peninsula.
• 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.
• By August, Eleventh Air Force B-24s were carrying out successful and accurate attacks on the Japanese military installations and the B-25s were successful in driving the Japanese fishing and much of the shipping out of the North Pacific.
• 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.
• Jurisdiction of Shemya AFB was transferred from the Aerospace Defense Command to the Strategic Air Command when the former was inactivated on 1 October 1979.
• The 404th Bombardment Squadron flew B-24 Liberator heavy bombers along with one Beechcraft AT-7, which was used for navigator training.
• In addition to being known as "Eareckson Air Station", other names for SYA include "Shemya Air Force Base", "Shemya Army Airfield" and "  ".
• A second attack by B-24 Liberators was launched from Alexai Point and Shemya on 18 July.