Nonstop flight route between Shemya, Alaska, United States and Graciosa Island, Azores, Portugal:
Departure Airport:
Arrival Airport:
Distance from SYA to GRW:
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- About this route
- SYA Airport Information
- GRW Airport Information
- Facts about SYA
- Facts about GRW
- 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 GRW
- List of Nearest Airports to GRW
- Map of Furthest Airports from GRW
- List of Furthest Airports from GRW
About this route:
A direct, nonstop flight between Eareckson Air Station (SYA), Shemya, Alaska, United States and Graciosa Airport (GRW), Graciosa Island, Azores, Portugal would travel a Great Circle distance of 5,956 miles (or 9,586 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 Graciosa 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 Graciosa 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: |
|
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: | GRW / LPGR |
Airport Name: | Graciosa Airport |
Location: | Graciosa Island, Azores, Portugal |
GPS Coordinates: | 39°5'33"N by 28°1'42"W |
Operator/Owner: | ANA – Aeroportos de Portugal, SA |
Airport Type: | Public |
Elevation: | 85 feet (26 meters) |
# of Runways: | 1 |
View all routes: | Routes from GRW |
More Information: | GRW 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.
- With the exception of a small station housekeeping unit, Shemya was abandoned after the war.
- 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.
- Shemya also continued to support the Great Circle Route for MATS and later Military Airlift Command transports between Japan and Elmendorf AFB.
- The base host squadron was re-designated the 5073rd Air Base Squadron on October 1962, and upgraded to a group on 15 October 1974 in recognition of the number and complexities of the tenant units it supported.
- In addition to being known as "Eareckson Air Station", other names for SYA include "Shemya Air Force Base", "Shemya Army Airfield" and " ".
- The spring of 1944 brought improving weather and the B-24s and PV-1s to fly more missions over the Kuriles.
- 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 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.
- Shemya has been the scene of two major earthquakes.
- Eareckson Air Station (SYA) currently has only 1 runway.
- 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.
Facts about Graciosa Airport (GRW):
- The closest airport to Graciosa Airport (GRW) is Pico Airport (PIX), which is located 43 miles (70 kilometers) SSW of GRW.
- The furthest airport from Graciosa Airport (GRW) is Merimbula Airport (MIM), which is nearly antipodal to Graciosa Airport (meaning Graciosa Airport is almost on the exact opposite side of the Earth from Merimbula Airport), and is located 12,248 miles (19,712 kilometers) away in Merimbula, New South Wales, Australia.
- Because of Graciosa Airport's relatively low elevation of 85 feet, planes can take off or land at Graciosa Airport 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.
- Graciosa Airport (GRW) currently has only 1 runway.