Nonstop flight route between Macará, Ecuador and Shemya, Alaska, United States:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between José María Velasco Ibarra Airport (MRR), Macará, Ecuador and Eareckson Air Station (SYA), Shemya, Alaska, United States would travel a Great Circle distance of 7,124 miles (or 11,464 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 José María Velasco Ibarra 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 José María Velasco Ibarra 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 José María Velasco Ibarra Airport (MRR):

• In addition to being known as "José María Velasco Ibarra Airport", another name for MRR is "Aeropuerto J.M. Velasco Ibarra".
• The furthest airport from José María Velasco Ibarra Airport (MRR) is Sitiawan Airport (SWY), which is nearly antipodal to José María Velasco Ibarra Airport (meaning José María Velasco Ibarra Airport is almost on the exact opposite side of the Earth from Sitiawan Airport), and is located 12,391 miles (19,942 kilometers) away in Perak, Malaysia.
• The closest airport to José María Velasco Ibarra Airport (MRR) is Camilo Ponce Enriquez Airport (LOH), which is located 47 miles (76 kilometers) NE of MRR.

Facts about Eareckson Air Station (SYA):

• 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 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 mission of Eleventh Air Force was to take advantage of the new airfields on Shemya and Attu, and carry out offensive operations against the enemy forces in the Kuriles.
• It also became a Strategic Air Command refueling site for B-52 Stratofortress bombers and KC-135 tankers as part of Operation Chrome Dome.
• Eareckson Air Station (SYA) currently has only 1 runway.
• 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.
• In August, after the Soviet Union declared war against the Japanese Empire, B-24s were dispatched on reconnaissance and intelligence-gathering missions to observe the Russian activity in the Kuriles.
• 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.
• In addition to being known as "Eareckson Air Station", other names for SYA include "Shemya Air Force Base", "Shemya Army Airfield" and "  ".