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

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Aviano Air Base (AVB), Aviano, Pordenone, Italy and Wake Island Airfield (AWK), Wake Island, United States Minor Outlying Islands would travel a Great Circle distance of 7,640 miles (or 12,296 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 Aviano Air Base 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 Aviano Air Base 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 Aviano Air Base (AVB):

• As part of the most extensive restructuring since the Air Force became a separate service, the Tactical Air Command was inactivated and the Air Combat Command was activated and the 31st Tactical Fighter Wing was redesignated to its current name, the 31st Fighter Wing.
• In addition to being known as "Aviano Air Base", another name for AVB is "Aviano AB".
• In August and September, Operation Deliberate Force began and the 31st FW conducted air strikes against Bosnian Serbs conducting ethnic purges among the Muslim population of the country.
• Aviano Air Base was established by the Italian government in 1911, and was used as training base for Italian pilots and construction facility for aircraft parts.
• The furthest airport from Aviano Air Base (AVB) is Chatham Islands (CHT), which is located 11,968 miles (19,261 kilometers) away in Waitangi, Chatham Islands, New Zealand.
• Since arriving at Aviano, the wing has also participated in numerous training exercises with international partners, including training deployments to Latvia, the Czech Republic, Romania, Bulgaria, Spain, Slovenia and Poland.
• From June through December 2001, the fighter squadrons deployed combat search and rescue capabilities three times and helped enforce the no fly zone over Iraq.
• The closest airport to Aviano Air Base (AVB) is Belluno Airport (BLX), which is located only 19 miles (31 kilometers) WNW of AVB.

Facts about Wake Island Airfield (AWK):

• The closest airport to Wake Island Airfield (AWK) is Quoin Hill Airfield (UIQ), which is located 169 miles (272 kilometers) SE of AWK.
• 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 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.
• 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.
• After pioneering air service into Wake Island in 1935, Pan American World Airways continued to serve the airfield for many years.
• Wake Island Airfield (AWK) currently has only 1 runway.
• British Overseas Airways Corporation also used Wake Island as a refueling stop.