Nonstop flight route between Kiwayu, Kenya and Wake Island, United States Minor Outlying Islands:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Kiwayu Airport (KWY), Kiwayu, Kenya and Wake Island Airfield (AWK), Wake Island, United States Minor Outlying Islands would travel a Great Circle distance of 8,557 miles (or 13,771 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 Kiwayu 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 Kiwayu 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 Kiwayu Airport (KWY):

• Kiwayu Airport (KWY) currently has only 1 runway.
• The closest airport to Kiwayu Airport (KWY) is Manda Airport (LAU), which is located 33 miles (53 kilometers) SW of KWY.
• Because of Kiwayu Airport's relatively low elevation of 23 feet, planes can take off or land at Kiwayu 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 Kiwayu Airport (KWY) is Atuona Airport (AUQ), which is located 11,626 miles (18,710 kilometers) away in Atuona, Marquesas Islands, French Polynesia.

Facts about Wake Island Airfield (AWK):

• After pioneering air service into Wake Island in 1935, Pan American World Airways continued to serve the airfield for many years.
• Between 5 and 29 May 1935, Pan American's air base construction vessel, North Haven, landed supplies and equipment on Wilkes Island for eventual rehandling to Peale Island which, because of its more suitable soil and geology, had been selected as site for the PAA seaplane base.
• British Overseas Airways Corporation also used Wake Island as a refueling stop.
• 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.
• 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.
• 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.
• The closest airport to Wake Island Airfield (AWK) is Quoin Hill Airfield (UIQ), which is located 169 miles (272 kilometers) SE of AWK.
• Wake Island Airfield (AWK) currently has only 1 runway.