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

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Victoria International Airport (YYJ), Victoria, British Columbia, Canada and Eareckson Air Station (SYA), Shemya, Alaska, United States would travel a Great Circle distance of 2,662 miles (or 4,284 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 Victoria 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 Victoria 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 Victoria International Airport (YYJ):

• The closest airport to Victoria International Airport (YYJ) is Bedwell Harbour Water Aerodrome (YBW), which is located only 11 miles (18 kilometers) NE of YYJ.
• Victoria International Airport (YYJ) has 3 runways.
• Because of Victoria International Airport's relatively low elevation of 64 feet, planes can take off or land at Victoria International 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.
• In 2011, YYJ served 1,499,792 passengers and had 141,465 aircraft movements making it one of Canada's busiest airports in terms of passengers.
• The main terminal has 9 gates, organized as gates 1–7 and 9–10.
• Gates 1–5 are used to handle international passenger arrivals.
• The furthest airport from Victoria International Airport (YYJ) is Tôlanaro Airport (FTU), which is located 10,724 miles (17,259 kilometers) away in Tôlanaro, Madagascar.
• The Victoria Airport Authority's 2008 master plan laid out a timeline of proposed changes to the airport.

Facts about Eareckson Air Station (SYA):

• The limited resources assigned to the Eleventh Air Force meant only a limited number of missions could be carried out over the Kuriles.
• Eareckson Air Station (SYA) currently has only 1 runway.
• The mission of Eleventh Air Force was to take advantage of the new airfields on Shemya and Attu, and carry out offensive operations against the enemy forces in 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.
• The base host squadron was re-designated the 5073rd Air Base Squadron on October 1962, and upgraded to a group on 15 October 1974 in recognition of the number and complexities of the tenant units it supported.
• 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 "  ".
• 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 aerial photos taken on the raid showed the Japanese were building up forces in the area, transferring aircraft presumably from air bases on Hokkaido.