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 Transport Department maintained control over the terminal building.
• The airport was designated as one of five Canadian airports suitable as an emergency landing site for the Space Shuttle orbiter.
• 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.
• The control tower originally constructed during the war burned down in an extensive fire at the airport on March 17, 1946, which caused $1.5 million worth of damage.
• St. John's International Airport handled 1,318,713 passengers last year.
• 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.
• 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.
• 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.
• St. John's International Airport (YYT) has 3 runways.

Facts about Eareckson Air Station (SYA):

• On 10 July 1943, eight B-25 Mitchells from the 77th Bombardment Squadron left Adak AAF and refueled at Alexai Point AAF on Attu.
• The news of the surrender of the Japanese was met with enthusiasm, the biggest topic was "When do we go home?".
• 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.
• With the successful completion of the Aleutian Campaign in August 1943, Eleventh Air Force came within striking distance of the Japanese Kurile Islands, the northernmost being 750 miles to the south-southwest of Shemya.
• In addition to being known as "Eareckson Air Station", other names for SYA include "Shemya Air Force Base", "Shemya Army Airfield" and "  ".
• 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.
• 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 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.