Nonstop flight route between Niuafo'ou, Tonga and Shemya, Alaska, United States:
Departure Airport:
Arrival Airport:
Distance from NFO to SYA:
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- About this route
- NFO Airport Information
- SYA Airport Information
- Facts about NFO
- Facts about SYA
- Map of Nearest Airports to NFO
- List of Nearest Airports to NFO
- Map of Furthest Airports from NFO
- List of Furthest Airports from NFO
- Map of Nearest Airports to SYA
- List of Nearest Airports to SYA
- Map of Furthest Airports from SYA
- List of Furthest Airports from SYA
About this route:
A direct, nonstop flight between Mata'aho Airport (NFO), Niuafo'ou, Tonga and Eareckson Air Station (SYA), Shemya, Alaska, United States would travel a Great Circle distance of 4,758 miles (or 7,657 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 Mata'aho 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 Mata'aho 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:
IATA / ICAO Codes: | NFO / NFTO |
Airport Name: | Mata'aho Airport |
Location: | Niuafo'ou, Tonga |
GPS Coordinates: | 15°34'15"S by 175°37'50"W |
Operator/Owner: | Ministry of Civil Aviation |
Airport Type: | Public |
View all routes: | Routes from NFO |
More Information: | NFO Maps & Info |
Arrival Airport Information:
IATA / ICAO Codes: | SYA / PASY |
Airport Names: |
|
Location: | Shemya, Alaska, United States |
GPS Coordinates: | 52°42'43"N by 174°6'48"E |
Operator/Owner: | U.S. Air Force |
Airport Type: | Military |
Elevation: | 97 feet (30 meters) |
# of Runways: | 1 |
View all routes: | Routes from SYA |
More Information: | SYA Maps & Info |
Facts about Mata'aho Airport (NFO):
- The closest airport to Mata'aho Airport (NFO) is Wallis Island (WLS), which is located 164 miles (263 kilometers) NNW of NFO.
- The furthest airport from Mata'aho Airport (NFO) is Tahoua Airport (THZ), which is nearly antipodal to Mata'aho Airport (meaning Mata'aho Airport is almost on the exact opposite side of the Earth from Tahoua Airport), and is located 12,360 miles (19,892 kilometers) away in Tahoua, Niger.
Facts about Eareckson Air Station (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.
- The Korean War brought extensive use by the Military Air Transport Service for the logistical support of Korea and Japan.
- 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.
- In July 1973, Raytheon won a contract to build a system called COBRA DANE on Shemya.
- Eareckson Air Station (SYA) currently has only 1 runway.
- 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.
- In addition to being known as "Eareckson Air Station", other names for SYA include "Shemya Air Force Base", "Shemya Army Airfield" and " ".
- On 6 April 1993, Shemya Air Force Base was renamed Eareckson Air Station.