Nonstop flight route between Zamboanga City, Philippines and Shemya, Alaska, United States:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Zamboanga International Airport (ZAM), Zamboanga City, Philippines and Eareckson Air Station (SYA), Shemya, Alaska, United States would travel a Great Circle distance of 4,301 miles (or 6,921 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 Zamboanga 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 Zamboanga 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 Zamboanga International Airport (ZAM):

• Zamboanga International Airport has one 2,610-meter primary runway.
• Zamboanga International Airport handled 904,668 passengers last year.
• The closest airport to Zamboanga International Airport (ZAM) is Ipil Airport (IPE), which is located 70 miles (113 kilometers) NNE of ZAM.
• Zamboanga International Airport (ZAM) currently has only 1 runway.
• Inside the terminal, there is only one store managed by the Air Transportation Office.
• On December 10, 2004, South Phoenix Airways announced their international flights to Sandakan and Kota Kinabalu in Malaysia, but it was eventually cut due to poor load of passengers.
• October 28, 2008 - Zamboanga International Airport Authority has finalised that observers and engineers are going to have an ocular inspection on the area's plan, to see the cost of the project and other prospect details.
• Because of Zamboanga International Airport's relatively low elevation of 20 feet, planes can take off or land at Zamboanga 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 development of the new airport for Zamboanga will involve approximately 175 hectares of land acquisition, including the areas for PALS and SALS, glide slope, future runway extension and parallel taxiway and 30-meter road right of way for the access road and diversion of existing barangay road.
• The furthest airport from Zamboanga International Airport (ZAM) is Itaituba Airport (ITB), which is nearly antipodal to Zamboanga International Airport (meaning Zamboanga International Airport is almost on the exact opposite side of the Earth from Itaituba Airport), and is located 12,209 miles (19,648 kilometers) away in Itaituba, Pará, Brazil.
• In addition to being known as "Zamboanga International Airport", another name for ZAM is "Paliparang Pandaigdig ng ZamboangaAeropuerto Internacional de Zamboanga".

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.
• On 6 April 1993, Shemya Air Force Base was renamed Eareckson Air Station.
• Shemya also continued to support the Great Circle Route for MATS and later Military Airlift Command transports between Japan and Elmendorf AFB.
• Eareckson Air Station (SYA) currently has only 1 runway.
• In 1966 the Air Defense Command 9th Air Division assumed jurisdiction of the base.
• 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.
• With the exception of a small station housekeeping unit, Shemya was abandoned after the war.
• In addition to being known as "Eareckson Air Station", other names for SYA include "Shemya Air Force Base", "Shemya Army Airfield" and "  ".
• The spring of 1944 brought improving weather and the B-24s and PV-1s to fly more missions over the Kuriles.
• 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.