Nonstop flight route between Vieques, Puerto Rico, United States and Shemya, Alaska, United States:
Departure Airport:
Arrival Airport:
Distance from VQS to SYA:
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- About this route
- VQS Airport Information
- SYA Airport Information
- Facts about VQS
- Facts about SYA
- Map of Nearest Airports to VQS
- List of Nearest Airports to VQS
- Map of Furthest Airports from VQS
- List of Furthest Airports from VQS
- Map of Nearest Airports to SYA
- List of Nearest Airports to SYA
- Map of Furthest Airports from SYA
- List of Furthest Airports from SYA
About this route:
A direct, nonstop flight between Antonio Rivera Rodríguez Airport (VQS), Vieques, Puerto Rico, United States and Eareckson Air Station (SYA), Shemya, Alaska, United States would travel a Great Circle distance of 6,391 miles (or 10,286 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 Antonio Rivera Rodríguez Airport and Eareckson Air Station, 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 Antonio Rivera Rodríguez Airport and Eareckson Air Station. You'll see that it will travel the same route of the red line on this map!
Departure Airport Information:
IATA / ICAO Codes: | VQS / TJVQ |
Airport Name: | Antonio Rivera Rodríguez Airport |
Location: | Vieques, Puerto Rico, United States |
GPS Coordinates: | 18°8'4"N by 65°29'36"W |
Area Served: | Isla De Vieques, Puerto Rico |
Operator/Owner: | Puerto Rico Ports Authority |
Airport Type: | Public |
Elevation: | 49 feet (15 meters) |
# of Runways: | 1 |
View all routes: | Routes from VQS |
More Information: | VQS Maps & Info |
Arrival 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 |
Facts about Antonio Rivera Rodríguez Airport (VQS):
- Antonio Rivera Rodríguez Airport handled 165,043 passengers last year.
- When anti-military demonstrators started flocking into Vieques, both by air and sea, in 1999, Vieques Airport saw a considerable increase to its normal yearly average of passengers.
- Early in 2005, plans were announced to expand the airport's lone runway, so that the airport can accept flights by smaller jets.
- Because of Antonio Rivera Rodríguez Airport's relatively low elevation of 49 feet, planes can take off or land at Antonio Rivera Rodríguez 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 furthest airport from Antonio Rivera Rodríguez Airport (VQS) is Barrow Island Airport (BWB), which is nearly antipodal to Antonio Rivera Rodríguez Airport (meaning Antonio Rivera Rodríguez Airport is almost on the exact opposite side of the Earth from Barrow Island Airport), and is located 12,239 miles (19,697 kilometers) away in Barrow Island, Western Australia, Australia.
- Antonio Rivera Rodríguez Airport (VQS) currently has only 1 runway.
- The closest airport to Antonio Rivera Rodríguez Airport (VQS) is Diego Jiménez Torres Airport (FAJ), which is located only 16 miles (26 kilometers) NW of VQS.
Facts about Eareckson Air Station (SYA):
- On 10 July 1943, eight B-25 Mitchells from the 77th Bombardment Squadron left Adak AAF and refueled at Alexai Point AAF on Attu.
- 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.
- Eareckson Air Station is located on the western tip of Alaska's Aleutian islands near the larger island of Attu, and is located approximately 1500 miles southwest of Anchorage.
- Eareckson Air Station (SYA) currently has only 1 runway.
- 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 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 spring of 1944 brought improving weather and the B-24s and PV-1s to fly more missions over the Kuriles.
- 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 addition to being known as "Eareckson Air Station", other names for SYA include "Shemya Air Force Base", "Shemya Army Airfield" and " ".
- The limited resources assigned to the Eleventh Air Force meant only a limited number of missions could be carried out over the Kuriles.