Nonstop flight route between Shemya, Alaska, United States and Gander, Newfoundland, Canada:
Departure Airport:
Arrival Airport:
Distance from SYA to YQX:
Share this route:
Jump to:
- About this route
- SYA Airport Information
- YQX Airport Information
- Facts about SYA
- Facts about YQX
- 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 YQX
- List of Nearest Airports to YQX
- Map of Furthest Airports from YQX
- List of Furthest Airports from YQX
About this route:
A direct, nonstop flight between Eareckson Air Station (SYA), Shemya, Alaska, United States and Gander International Airport (YQX), Gander, Newfoundland, Canada would travel a Great Circle distance of 4,857 miles (or 7,817 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 Gander International 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 Gander International 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: | YQX / CYQX |
Airport Name: | Gander International Airport |
Location: | Gander, Newfoundland, Canada |
GPS Coordinates: | 48°56'12"N by 54°34'5"W |
Area Served: | Gander, Newfoundland |
Operator/Owner: | Transport Canada |
Airport Type: | Public |
Elevation: | 496 feet (151 meters) |
# of Runways: | 2 |
View all routes: | Routes from YQX |
More Information: | YQX 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.
- 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 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.
- In addition to being known as "Eareckson Air Station", other names for SYA include "Shemya Air Force Base", "Shemya Army Airfield" and " ".
- It also became a Strategic Air Command refueling site for B-52 Stratofortress bombers and KC-135 tankers as part of Operation Chrome Dome.
- There is also an NDB, TACAN and a VOR on the island.
- 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.
- Eareckson Air Station (SYA) currently has only 1 runway.
Facts about Gander International Airport (YQX):
- Because of Gander International Airport's relatively low elevation of 496 feet, planes can take off or land at Gander International 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.
- Runway 04/22 was extended from 8,400 to 10,500 ft in 1971.
- Following the war, the RCAF handed operation of the airfield back to the dominion government in March 1946, although the RCN's radio station remained and the military role for the entire facility was upgraded through the Cold War.
- The furthest airport from Gander International Airport (YQX) is Albany Airport (ALH), which is located 11,395 miles (18,338 kilometers) away in Albany, Western Australia, Australia.
- Gander International Airport is located in Gander, Newfoundland and Labrador, Canada, and is operated by the Gander International Airport Authority.
- Gander International Airport (YQX) has 2 runways.
- The closest airport to Gander International Airport (YQX) is St. John's International Airport (YYT), which is located 124 miles (199 kilometers) SE of YQX.
- A major reason that Gander received so much traffic was partly due to its ability to handle large aircraft, but primarily because Transport Canada and Nav Canada instructed pilots coming from Europe to avoid the airports in major urban centres of Central Canada, like Lester B.
- On December 12, 1985 Arrow Air Flight 1285 crashed on take-off from, the then runway 22.
- In March 2010, Sun Country Airlines announced that it would use Gander as a refueling stop for its new summer 2010 service between Minneapolis and London Stansted Airport and for its summer 2011 service between Minneapolis and London Gatwick Airport.