Nonstop flight route between Wake Island, United States Minor Outlying Islands and Bucharest, Romania:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Wake Island Airfield (AWK), Wake Island, United States Minor Outlying Islands and Bucharest Băneasa Aurel Vlaicu International Airport (BBU), Bucharest, Romania would travel a Great Circle distance of 7,376 miles (or 11,870 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 Bucharest Băneasa Aurel Vlaicu International 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 Bucharest Băneasa Aurel Vlaicu International 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):

• 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 (AWK) currently has only 1 runway.
• The closest airport to Wake Island Airfield (AWK) is Quoin Hill Airfield (UIQ), which is located 169 miles (272 kilometers) SE of AWK.
• On 31 August 2006, the super typhoon Ioke struck Wake Island.
• 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.
• 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.
• 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.
• 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.

Facts about Bucharest Băneasa Aurel Vlaicu International Airport (BBU):

• The building is a late 1940s design, and was not built to cope with more than 600,000 passengers per year and departures every 25 minutes.
• Bucharest Băneasa Aurel Vlaicu International Airport handled 6,036 passengers last year.
• The furthest airport from Bucharest Băneasa Aurel Vlaicu International Airport (BBU) is Chatham Islands (CHT), which is located 11,321 miles (18,219 kilometers) away in Waitangi, Chatham Islands, New Zealand.
• In March 2012, Băneasa was converted into an airport 100% dedicated to business air traffic.
• The current terminal building was designed in the late 1940s and opened in 1952.
• In addition to being known as "Bucharest Băneasa Aurel Vlaicu International Airport", another name for BBU is "Aeroportul Internaţional Bucureşti Băneasa Aurel Vlaicu".
• During the communist period, Băneasa Airport was TAROM's domestic hub, while Otopeni Airport was used as an international hub.
• Bucharest Băneasa Aurel Vlaicu International Airport (BBU) currently has only 1 runway.
• An extension of the Bucharest Metro system to Aurel Vlaicu International, as Metro Line M6, which will link it to the Main Train Station and the larger Henri Coandă International Airport, was approved in June 2006 and is currently in its planning stage.
• The closest airport to Bucharest Băneasa Aurel Vlaicu International Airport (BBU) is Bucharest Henri Coandǎ International Airport (OTP), which is located only 5 miles (8 kilometers) N of BBU.
• The first flights in the Băneasa area took place in 1909 and they were carried out by the French pilot and aviation pioneer Louis Blériot.
• Because of Bucharest Băneasa Aurel Vlaicu International Airport's relatively low elevation of 299 feet, planes can take off or land at Bucharest Băneasa Aurel Vlaicu International 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.