Nonstop flight route between Wake Island, United States Minor Outlying Islands and Altenrhein, Switzerland:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Wake Island Airfield (AWK), Wake Island, United States Minor Outlying Islands and St. Gallen–Altenrhein Airport (ACH), Altenrhein, Switzerland would travel a Great Circle distance of 7,609 miles (or 12,245 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 St. Gallen–Altenrhein 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 St. Gallen–Altenrhein Airport. 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 Wake Island Airfield (AWK):

• On 31 August 2006, the super typhoon Ioke struck Wake Island.
• Japan Airlines used both Wake Island and Honolulu as stops on its initial Tokyo-San Francisco service using Douglas DC-6s in the mid-1950s.
• 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 closest airport to Wake Island Airfield (AWK) is Quoin Hill Airfield (UIQ), which is located 169 miles (272 kilometers) SE of AWK.
• 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.
• Wake Island Airfield is a military airport located on Wake Island, which is known for the Battle of Wake Island.
• 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.
• Wake Island Airfield (AWK) currently has only 1 runway.

Facts about St. Gallen–Altenrhein Airport (ACH):

• In addition to being known as "St. Gallen–Altenrhein Airport", another name for ACH is "People's Business Airport".
• The paved, eastbound runway 10 is equipped with an Instrument landing system.
• The furthest airport from St. Gallen–Altenrhein Airport (ACH) is Chatham Islands (CHT), which is nearly antipodal to St. Gallen–Altenrhein Airport (meaning St. Gallen–Altenrhein Airport is almost on the exact opposite side of the Earth from Chatham Islands), and is located 12,051 miles (19,394 kilometers) away in Waitangi, Chatham Islands, New Zealand.
• St. Gallen–Altenrhein Airport (ACH) has 2 runways.
• The nearest bigger airport is Friedrichshafen Airport in Germany, on the opposite side of Lake Constance to the northwest by ferry).
• The closest airport to St. Gallen–Altenrhein Airport (ACH) is Hohenems-Dornbirn Airport (HOH), which is located only 10 miles (15 kilometers) SE of ACH.