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):

• In May 2005, the federal government, which owns the land, announced a reduction in the rent paid by the Victoria Airport Authority.
• There are two popular locations for plane spotters.
• Victoria International Airport (YYJ) has 3 runways.
• A new interchange at Highway 17 and McTavish Road, the main highway access point to the airport, was completed in April 2011.
• The airport started in 1939 as a grass strip, and was used as a military training base.
• 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.
• 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.
• In 1997, as part of a broad scale restructuring of airports across Canada, Transport Canada, gave operational control of the airport to the Victoria Airport Authority.
• 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.

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.
• In addition to being known as "Eareckson Air Station", other names for SYA include "Shemya Air Force Base", "Shemya Army Airfield" and "  ".
• In August 1988, at least one Aries rocket was launched, relating to the Queen Match program, for anti-ballistic missile testing.
• 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.
• 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.
• Eareckson Air Station (SYA) currently has only 1 runway.
• 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.
• 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.
• The news of the surrender of the Japanese was met with enthusiasm, the biggest topic was "When do we go home?".
• On 6 April 1993, Shemya Air Force Base was renamed Eareckson Air Station.