Nonstop flight route between Whale Cove, Nunavut, Canada and Shemya, Alaska, United States:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Whale Cove Airport (YXN), Whale Cove, Nunavut, Canada and Eareckson Air Station (SYA), Shemya, Alaska, United States would travel a Great Circle distance of 3,216 miles (or 5,175 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 Whale Cove 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 Whale Cove 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 Whale Cove Airport (YXN):

• Whale Cove Airport (YXN) currently has only 1 runway.
• The closest airport to Whale Cove Airport (YXN) is Rankin Inlet Airport (YRT), which is located 42 miles (68 kilometers) NNE of YXN.
• The furthest airport from Whale Cove Airport (YXN) is Albany Airport (ALH), which is located 10,138 miles (16,316 kilometers) away in Albany, Western Australia, Australia.
• Because of Whale Cove Airport's relatively low elevation of 40 feet, planes can take off or land at Whale Cove 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.

Facts about Eareckson Air Station (SYA):

• 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.
• 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.
• Eareckson Air Station (SYA) currently has only 1 runway.
• Eareckson Air Station is located on the western tip of Alaska's Aleutian islands near the larger island of Attu, and is located approximately 1500 miles southwest of Anchorage.
• In addition to being known as "Eareckson Air Station", other names for SYA include "Shemya Air Force Base", "Shemya Army Airfield" and "  ".
• 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.
• A second attack by B-24 Liberators was launched from Alexai Point and Shemya on 18 July.
• 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 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 1966 the Air Defense Command 9th Air Division assumed jurisdiction of the base.