Nonstop flight route between Rankin Inlet, Nunavut, Canada and Shemya, Alaska, United States:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Rankin Inlet Airport (YRT), Rankin Inlet, Nunavut, Canada and Eareckson Air Station (SYA), Shemya, Alaska, United States would travel a Great Circle distance of 3,207 miles (or 5,161 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 Rankin Inlet 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 Rankin Inlet 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 Rankin Inlet Airport (YRT):

• The furthest airport from Rankin Inlet Airport (YRT) is Albany Airport (ALH), which is located 10,124 miles (16,293 kilometers) away in Albany, Western Australia, Australia.
• Because of Rankin Inlet Airport's relatively low elevation of 106 feet, planes can take off or land at Rankin Inlet 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.
• Rankin Inlet Airport (YRT) currently has only 1 runway.
• The closest airport to Rankin Inlet Airport (YRT) is Whale Cove Airport (YXN), which is located 42 miles (68 kilometers) SSW of YRT.

Facts about Eareckson Air Station (SYA):

• On 6 April 1993, Shemya Air Force Base was renamed Eareckson Air Station.
• 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.
• A second attack by B-24 Liberators was launched from Alexai Point and Shemya on 18 July.
• In addition to being known as "Eareckson Air Station", other names for SYA include "Shemya Air Force Base", "Shemya Army Airfield" and "  ".
• It also became a Strategic Air Command refueling site for B-52 Stratofortress bombers and KC-135 tankers as part of Operation Chrome Dome.
• On 28 May 1943, a small detachment of Alaskan Scouts began reconnaissance of Shemya, a small, flat, uninhabited island 35 miles to the east of Attu.
• With the successful completion of the Aleutian Campaign in August 1943, Eleventh Air Force came within striking distance of the Japanese Kurile Islands, the northernmost being 750 miles to the south-southwest of Shemya.
• 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.
• 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 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.