Nonstop flight route between Grosseto, Italy and Wake Island, United States Minor Outlying Islands:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Grosseto Airport (GRS), Grosseto, Italy and Wake Island Airfield (AWK), Wake Island, United States Minor Outlying Islands would travel a Great Circle distance of 7,877 miles (or 12,676 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 Grosseto Airport and Wake Island Airfield, 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 Grosseto Airport and Wake Island Airfield. You'll see that it will travel the same route of the red line on this map!

Departure Airport Information:

Arrival Airport Information:

Facts about Grosseto Airport (GRS):

• Grosseto Airport handled 4,382 passengers last year.
• During World War II the airfield was used by the United States Army Air Force Twelfth Air Force.
• Because of Grosseto Airport's relatively low elevation of 15 feet, planes can take off or land at Grosseto 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.
• Grosseto Airport (GRS) has 2 runways.
• The furthest airport from Grosseto Airport (GRS) is Chatham Islands (CHT), which is nearly antipodal to Grosseto Airport (meaning Grosseto Airport is almost on the exact opposite side of the Earth from Chatham Islands), and is located 12,051 miles (19,395 kilometers) away in Waitangi, Chatham Islands, New Zealand.
• In addition to being known as "Grosseto Airport", other names for GRS include "Aeroporto di Grosseto" and "Grosseto Airport".
• The closest airport to Grosseto Airport (GRS) is Siena-Ampugnano Airport (SAY), which is located 36 miles (57 kilometers) NNE of GRS.

Facts about Wake Island Airfield (AWK):

• On 26 December 1940, implementing the Hepburn Board's recommendations, a pioneer party of 80 men and 2,000 short tons of equipment sailed for Wake Island from Oahu.
• 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.
• 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.
• Wake Island Airfield (AWK) currently has only 1 runway.
• 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.