Nonstop flight route between Wanganui, New Zealand and Wake Island, United States Minor Outlying Islands:
Departure Airport:
Arrival Airport:
Distance from WAG to AWK:
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- About this route
- WAG Airport Information
- AWK Airport Information
- Facts about WAG
- Facts about AWK
- Map of Nearest Airports to WAG
- List of Nearest Airports to WAG
- Map of Furthest Airports from WAG
- List of Furthest Airports from WAG
- Map of Nearest Airports to AWK
- List of Nearest Airports to AWK
- Map of Furthest Airports from AWK
- List of Furthest Airports from AWK
About this route:
A direct, nonstop flight between Wanganui Airport (WAG), Wanganui, New Zealand and Wake Island Airfield (AWK), Wake Island, United States Minor Outlying Islands would travel a Great Circle distance of 4,129 miles (or 6,645 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 Wanganui 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 Wanganui 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:
IATA / ICAO Codes: | WAG / NZWU |
Airport Name: | Wanganui Airport |
Location: | Wanganui, New Zealand |
GPS Coordinates: | 39°57'43"S by 175°1'31"E |
Elevation: | 27 feet (8 meters) |
# of Runways: | 5 |
View all routes: | Routes from WAG |
More Information: | WAG Maps & Info |
Arrival 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 |
Facts about Wanganui Airport (WAG):
- Wanganui Airport (WAG) has 5 runways.
- The furthest airport from Wanganui Airport (WAG) is Salamanca-Matacán Airport (SLM), which is nearly antipodal to Wanganui Airport (meaning Wanganui Airport is almost on the exact opposite side of the Earth from Salamanca-Matacán Airport), and is located 12,363 miles (19,896 kilometers) away in Salamanca, Spain.
- Because of Wanganui Airport's relatively low elevation of 27 feet, planes can take off or land at Wanganui 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 closest airport to Wanganui Airport (WAG) is Palmerston North Airport (PMR), which is located 40 miles (64 kilometers) SE of WAG.
Facts about Wake Island Airfield (AWK):
- British Overseas Airways Corporation also used Wake Island as a refueling stop.
- Wake Island Airfield (AWK) currently has only 1 runway.
- 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.
- 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.
- 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.
- 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 closest airport to Wake Island Airfield (AWK) is Quoin Hill Airfield (UIQ), which is located 169 miles (272 kilometers) SE of AWK.
- After pioneering air service into Wake Island in 1935, Pan American World Airways continued to serve the airfield for many years.