Nonstop flight route between Wake Island, United States Minor Outlying Islands and Besalampy, Madagascar:
Departure Airport:
Arrival Airport:
Distance from AWK to BPY:
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- About this route
- AWK Airport Information
- BPY Airport Information
- Facts about AWK
- Facts about BPY
- Map of Nearest Airports to AWK
- List of Nearest Airports to AWK
- Map of Furthest Airports from AWK
- List of Furthest Airports from AWK
- Map of Nearest Airports to BPY
- List of Nearest Airports to BPY
- Map of Furthest Airports from BPY
- List of Furthest Airports from BPY
About this route:
A direct, nonstop flight between Wake Island Airfield (AWK), Wake Island, United States Minor Outlying Islands and Besalampy Airport (BPY), Besalampy, Madagascar would travel a Great Circle distance of 8,649 miles (or 13,919 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 Wake Island Airfield and Besalampy 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 Wake Island Airfield and Besalampy Airport. You'll see that it will travel the same route of the red line on this map!
Departure Airport Information:
IATA / ICAO Codes: | AWK / PWAK |
Airport Name: | Wake Island Airfield |
Location: | Wake Island, United States Minor Outlying Islands |
GPS Coordinates: | 19°16'56"N by 166°38'12"E |
Operator/Owner: | U.S. Air Force |
Airport Type: | Military |
Elevation: | 23 feet (7 meters) |
# of Runways: | 1 |
View all routes: | Routes from AWK |
More Information: | AWK Maps & Info |
Arrival Airport Information:
IATA / ICAO Codes: | BPY / FMNQ |
Airport Name: | Besalampy Airport |
Location: | Besalampy, Madagascar |
GPS Coordinates: | 16°44'38"S by 44°29'2"E |
Elevation: | 0 feet (0 meters) |
View all routes: | Routes from BPY |
More Information: | BPY Maps & Info |
Facts about Wake Island Airfield (AWK):
- The furthest airport from Wake Island Airfield (AWK) is RAF Ascension (ASI), which is located 11,652 miles (18,752 kilometers) away in Georgetown, Ascension Island, Saint Helena.
- Because of Wake Island Airfield's relatively low elevation of 23 feet, planes can take off or land at Wake Island Airfield 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.
- Another airline that operated into Wake Island was Philippine Airlines with Douglas DC-8 jetliners on a daily westbound service from San Francisco and Honolulu to Manila during the early 1970s.
- Wake Island Airfield (AWK) currently has only 1 runway.
- Wake Island Airfield is a military airport located on Wake Island, which is known for the Battle of Wake Island.
- The first intention to build an air base surfaced in 1935, when Pan American World Airways selected Wake Island as an intermediate support base for their routes to the Far East, especially the Philippines.
- From 1935 until 1940, when two typhoons swept Wake with resultant extensive damage to the now elaborately developed Pan American facilities, development and use of the base were steady but uneventful.
- After pioneering air service into Wake Island in 1935, Pan American World Airways continued to serve the airfield for many years.
- The closest airport to Wake Island Airfield (AWK) is Quoin Hill Airfield (UIQ), which is located 169 miles (272 kilometers) SE of AWK.
Facts about Besalampy Airport (BPY):
- Because of Besalampy Airport's relatively low elevation of 0 feet, planes can take off or land at Besalampy 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 Besalampy Airport (BPY) is Hilo International Airport (ITO), which is located 11,139 miles (17,927 kilometers) away in Hilo, Hawaii, United States.
- The closest airport to Besalampy Airport (BPY) is Tambohorano Airport (WTA), which is located 61 miles (98 kilometers) SSW of BPY.