Nonstop flight route between Shemya, Alaska, United States and Westport, New Zealand:
Departure Airport:
Arrival Airport:
Distance from SYA to WSZ:
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- About this route
- SYA Airport Information
- WSZ Airport Information
- Facts about SYA
- Facts about WSZ
- 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 WSZ
- List of Nearest Airports to WSZ
- Map of Furthest Airports from WSZ
- List of Furthest Airports from WSZ
About this route:
A direct, nonstop flight between Eareckson Air Station (SYA), Shemya, Alaska, United States and Westport Airport (WSZ), Westport, New Zealand would travel a Great Circle distance of 6,528 miles (or 10,505 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 Westport 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 Westport 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: | WSZ / NZWS |
Airport Name: | Westport Airport |
Location: | Westport, New Zealand |
GPS Coordinates: | 41°44'17"S by 171°34'50"E |
Elevation: | 13 feet (4 meters) |
# of Runways: | 1 |
View all routes: | Routes from WSZ |
More Information: | WSZ Maps & Info |
Facts about Eareckson Air Station (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 1958, the Air Force resumed operations on Shemya in support of various Air Force and Army strategic intelligence collection activities.
- 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.
- 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.
- Eareckson Air Station (SYA) currently has only 1 runway.
- 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.
- On 28 May 1943, a small detachment of Alaskan Scouts began reconnaissance of Shemya, a small, flat, uninhabited island 35 miles to the east of Attu.
- 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 " ".
Facts about Westport Airport (WSZ):
- Westport Airport (WSZ) currently has only 1 runway.
- The furthest airport from Westport Airport (WSZ) is Braga Airport (BGZ), which is nearly antipodal to Westport Airport (meaning Westport Airport is almost on the exact opposite side of the Earth from Braga Airport), and is located 12,426 miles (19,998 kilometers) away in Braga, Portugal.
- Because of Westport Airport's relatively low elevation of 13 feet, planes can take off or land at Westport 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.
- The closest airport to Westport Airport (WSZ) is Greymouth Airport (GMN), which is located 54 miles (87 kilometers) SSW of WSZ.