Nonstop flight route between Shemya, Alaska, United States and Bamenda, Cameroon:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Eareckson Air Station (SYA), Shemya, Alaska, United States and Bamenda Airport (BPC), Bamenda, Cameroon would travel a Great Circle distance of 8,270 miles (or 13,309 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 Eareckson Air Station and Bamenda Airport, 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 Eareckson Air Station and Bamenda Airport. 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 Eareckson Air Station (SYA):

• Shemya also continued to support the Great Circle Route for MATS and later Military Airlift Command transports between Japan and Elmendorf AFB.
• 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.
• By the end of 1944, several hundred American airmen had been interned by the Russians after their crippled aircraft landed on Petropavlovsk on the Kamchatka Peninsula.
• 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.
• In addition to being known as "Eareckson Air Station", other names for SYA include "Shemya Air Force Base", "Shemya Army Airfield" and "  ".
• 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 404th Bombardment Squadron flew B-24 Liberator heavy bombers along with one Beechcraft AT-7, which was used for navigator training.
• On 6 April 1993, Shemya Air Force Base was renamed Eareckson Air Station.
• 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.
• Eareckson Air Station (SYA) currently has only 1 runway.

Facts about Bamenda Airport (BPC):

• Bamenda Airport (BPC) currently has only 1 runway.
• The furthest airport from Bamenda Airport (BPC) is Canton Island Airport (CIS), which is nearly antipodal to Bamenda Airport (meaning Bamenda Airport is almost on the exact opposite side of the Earth from Canton Island Airport), and is located 12,178 miles (19,599 kilometers) away in Canton Island, Kiribati.
• The closest airport to Bamenda Airport (BPC) is Bali Airport (BAJ), which is located only 12 miles (19 kilometers) SSW of BPC.
• Because of Bamenda Airport's high elevation of 4,065 feet, planes must typically fly at a faster airspeed in order to takeoff or land at BPC. Combined with a high temperature, this could make BPC a "Hot & High" airport, where the air density is lower than it would otherwise be at sea level.