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

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Calgary International Airport (YYC), Calgary, Alberta, Canada and Eareckson Air Station (SYA), Shemya, Alaska, United States would travel a Great Circle distance of 2,934 miles (or 4,722 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 Calgary 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 Calgary 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 Calgary International Airport (YYC):

• Comprising gates 1–19, Concourse A is used mostly for domestic outbound flights, although US-bound flights and other international flights sometimes depart from the A-gates.
• Servisair provides cargo, lounge, passenger, and ramp services in Calgary.
• Apron II is the main cargo facility at the airport which can park up to four Boeing 747s.
• The closest airport to Calgary International Airport (YYC) is Banff Airport (YBA), which is located 66 miles (107 kilometers) W of YYC.
• Gates 20–28 are swing gates between Concourse B and C.
• A new runway numbered 17L/35R became operational in 2014.
• The furthest airport from Calgary International Airport (YYC) is Tôlanaro Airport (FTU), which is located 10,372 miles (16,692 kilometers) away in Tôlanaro, Madagascar.
• Calgary International Airport (YYC) has 4 runways.

Facts about Eareckson Air Station (SYA):

• 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.
• In addition to being known as "Eareckson Air Station", other names for SYA include "Shemya Air Force Base", "Shemya Army Airfield" and "  ".
• The limited resources assigned to the Eleventh Air Force meant only a limited number of missions could be carried out over the Kuriles.
• 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.
• In 1958, the Air Force resumed operations on Shemya in support of various Air Force and Army strategic intelligence collection activities.
• Shemya also continued to support the Great Circle Route for MATS and later Military Airlift Command transports between Japan and Elmendorf AFB.
• 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.
• 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 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.