Nonstop flight route between Tureia, Tuamotus, French Polynesia and Shemya, Alaska, United States:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Tureira Airport (ZTA), Tureia, Tuamotus, French Polynesia and Eareckson Air Station (SYA), Shemya, Alaska, United States would travel a Great Circle distance of 5,815 miles (or 9,358 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 Tureira 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 Tureira 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 Tureira Airport (ZTA):

• From 1966 to 1999, Tureia hosted an outpost of the Centre d'Expérimentation du Pacifique, the French authority supervising nuclear tests on the nearby atolls of Moruroa and Fangataufa, which lie about 70 miles/115 kilometres south of Tureia.
• The first recorded European to arrive to Tureia was Captain Edward Edwards in 1791, during his search for the Bounty mutineers.
• The furthest airport from Tureira Airport (ZTA) is Al-Baha Domestic Airport (ABT), which is nearly antipodal to Tureira Airport (meaning Tureira Airport is almost on the exact opposite side of the Earth from Al-Baha Domestic Airport), and is located 12,402 miles (19,958 kilometers) away in Al-Baha, Saudi Arabia.
• Because of Tureira Airport's relatively low elevation of 0 feet, planes can take off or land at Tureira 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 closest airport to Tureira Airport (ZTA) is Nukutavake Airport (NUK), which is located 104 miles (167 kilometers) N of ZTA.

Facts about Eareckson Air Station (SYA):

• 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.
• In 1958, the Air Force resumed operations on Shemya in support of various Air Force and Army strategic intelligence collection activities.
• 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.
• 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.
• 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.
• 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 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.
• Eareckson Air Station (SYA) currently has only 1 runway.