Nonstop flight route between St. John's, Newfoundland and Labrador, Canada and Shemya, Alaska, United States:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between St. John's International Airport (YYT), St. John's, Newfoundland and Labrador, Canada and Eareckson Air Station (SYA), Shemya, Alaska, United States would travel a Great Circle distance of 4,977 miles (or 8,010 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 St. John's 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 St. John's 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 St. John's International Airport (YYT):

• The furthest airport from St. John's International Airport (YYT) is Portland Airport (PTJ), which is located 11,475 miles (18,467 kilometers) away in Portland, Victoria, Australia.
• Although the airfield was not used as much as Argentia, Gander, Stephenville and Goose Bay Airports in the movement of large numbers of aircraft to England, it was still quite busy.
• The closest airport to St. John's International Airport (YYT) is Gander International Airport (YQX), which is located 124 miles (199 kilometers) NW of YYT.
• St. John's International Airport (YYT) has 3 runways.
• The Transport Department maintained control over the terminal building.
• St. John's International Airport handled 1,318,713 passengers last year.
• Concern was expressed as early as September 1939 in the Canadian Parliament for the security of Newfoundland in the event of a German raid or attack.
• In 1981 the terminal building housed the offices of the airport manager and staff.
• Because of St. John's International Airport's relatively low elevation of 461 feet, planes can take off or land at St. John's 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.

Facts about Eareckson Air Station (SYA):

• Eareckson Air Station (SYA) currently has only 1 runway.
• 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.
• After the disastrous attack, the focus of Eleventh Air Force was shifted to a defensive posture in the event of retaliatory attacks from the Japanese.
• 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 news of the surrender of the Japanese was met with enthusiasm, the biggest topic was "When do we go home?".
• In addition to being known as "Eareckson Air Station", other names for SYA include "Shemya Air Force Base", "Shemya Army Airfield" and "  ".
• In July 1973, Raytheon won a contract to build a system called COBRA DANE on Shemya.
• 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 spring of 1944 brought improving weather and the B-24s and PV-1s to fly more missions over the Kuriles.
• The Korean War brought extensive use by the Military Air Transport Service for the logistical support of Korea and Japan.
• The limited resources assigned to the Eleventh Air Force meant only a limited number of missions could be carried out over the Kuriles.