Nonstop flight route between Shemya, Alaska, United States and Grootfontein, Namibia:
Departure Airport:
Arrival Airport:
Distance from SYA to GFY:
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- About this route
- SYA Airport Information
- GFY Airport Information
- Facts about SYA
- Facts about GFY
- Map of Nearest Airports to SYA
- List of Nearest Airports to SYA
- Map of Furthest Airports from SYA
- List of Furthest Airports from SYA
- Map of Nearest Airports to GFY
- List of Nearest Airports to GFY
- Map of Furthest Airports from GFY
- List of Furthest Airports from GFY
About this route:
A direct, nonstop flight between Eareckson Air Station (SYA), Shemya, Alaska, United States and Grootfontein Airport (GFY), Grootfontein, Namibia would travel a Great Circle distance of 9,813 miles (or 15,792 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 Grootfontein 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 Grootfontein Airport. You'll see that it will travel the same route of the red line on this map!
Departure Airport Information:
IATA / ICAO Codes: | SYA / PASY |
Airport Names: |
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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 |
Arrival Airport Information:
IATA / ICAO Codes: | GFY / FYGF |
Airport Names: |
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Location: | Grootfontein, Namibia |
GPS Coordinates: | 19°36'6"S by 18°7'20"E |
Airport Type: | Public |
Elevation: | 4636 feet (1,413 meters) |
# of Runways: | 2 |
View all routes: | Routes from GFY |
More Information: | GFY Maps & Info |
Facts about Eareckson Air Station (SYA):
- 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 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 Korean War brought extensive use by the Military Air Transport Service for the logistical support of Korea and Japan.
- Eareckson Air Station (SYA) currently has only 1 runway.
- In addition to being known as "Eareckson Air Station", other names for SYA include "Shemya Air Force Base", "Shemya Army Airfield" and " ".
- 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 aerial photos taken on the raid showed the Japanese were building up forces in the area, transferring aircraft presumably from air bases on Hokkaido.
- 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.
Facts about Grootfontein Airport (GFY):
- The closest airport to Grootfontein Airport (GFY) is Halali Airport (HAL), which is located 115 miles (186 kilometers) WNW of GFY.
- The furthest airport from Grootfontein Airport (GFY) is PMRF Barking Sands (BKH), which is nearly antipodal to Grootfontein Airport (meaning Grootfontein Airport is almost on the exact opposite side of the Earth from PMRF Barking Sands), and is located 12,222 miles (19,669 kilometers) away in Kekaha, Hawaii, United States.
- In addition to being known as "Grootfontein Airport", another name for GFY is "Grootfontein Airport".
- Grootfontein Airport (GFY) has 2 runways.
- Because of Grootfontein Airport's high elevation of 4,636 feet, planes must typically fly at a faster airspeed in order to takeoff or land at GFY. Combined with a high temperature, this could make GFY a "Hot & High" airport, where the air density is lower than it would otherwise be at sea level.