Nonstop flight route between Mzuzu, Malawi and Shemya, Alaska, United States:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Mzuzu Airport (ZZU), Mzuzu, Malawi and Eareckson Air Station (SYA), Shemya, Alaska, United States would travel a Great Circle distance of 8,833 miles (or 14,215 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 Mzuzu 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 Mzuzu 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 Mzuzu Airport (ZZU):

• Because of Mzuzu Airport's high elevation of 4,115 feet, planes must typically fly at a faster airspeed in order to takeoff or land at ZZU. Combined with a high temperature, this could make ZZU a "Hot & High" airport, where the air density is lower than it would otherwise be at sea level.
• The furthest airport from Mzuzu Airport (ZZU) is Hilo International Airport (ITO), which is located 11,606 miles (18,679 kilometers) away in Hilo, Hawaii, United States.
• The closest airport to Mzuzu Airport (ZZU) is Chelinda Airport (CEH), which is located 63 miles (101 kilometers) NNW of ZZU.
• Mzuzu Airport (ZZU) currently has only 1 runway.

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 "  ".
• Eareckson Air Station is located on the western tip of Alaska's Aleutian islands near the larger island of Attu, and is located approximately 1500 miles southwest of Anchorage.
• 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.
• 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.
• By August, Eleventh Air Force B-24s were carrying out successful and accurate attacks on the Japanese military installations and the B-25s were successful in driving the Japanese fishing and much of the shipping out of the North Pacific.
• Shemya also continued to support the Great Circle Route for MATS and later Military Airlift Command transports between Japan and Elmendorf AFB.
• 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.
• 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.
• Jurisdiction of Shemya AFB was transferred from the Aerospace Defense Command to the Strategic Air Command when the former was inactivated on 1 October 1979.
• 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.
• On 6 April 1993, Shemya Air Force Base was renamed Eareckson Air Station.