Nonstop flight route between Wake Island, United States Minor Outlying Islands and Columbia, Missouri, United States:
Departure Airport:

Arrival Airport:

Distance from AWK to COU:
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- About this route
- AWK Airport Information
- COU Airport Information
- Facts about AWK
- Facts about COU
- Map of Nearest Airports to AWK
- List of Nearest Airports to AWK
- Map of Furthest Airports from AWK
- List of Furthest Airports from AWK
- Map of Nearest Airports to COU
- List of Nearest Airports to COU
- Map of Furthest Airports from COU
- List of Furthest Airports from COU
About this route:
A direct, nonstop flight between Wake Island Airfield (AWK), Wake Island, United States Minor Outlying Islands and Columbia Regional Airport (COU), Columbia, Missouri, United States would travel a Great Circle distance of 5,961 miles (or 9,594 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 Columbia Regional 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 Columbia Regional Airport. You'll see that it will travel the same route of the red line on this map!
Departure 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 |
Arrival Airport Information:
IATA / ICAO Codes: | COU / KCOU |
Airport Name: | Columbia Regional Airport |
Location: | Columbia, Missouri, United States |
GPS Coordinates: | 38°49'5"N by 92°13'10"W |
Area Served: | Columbia, Missouri |
Operator/Owner: | City of Columbia |
Airport Type: | Public |
Elevation: | 889 feet (271 meters) |
# of Runways: | 2 |
View all routes: | Routes from COU |
More Information: | COU Maps & Info |
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.
- 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.
- On 26 December 1940, implementing the Hepburn Board's recommendations, a pioneer party of 80 men and 2,000 short tons of equipment sailed for Wake Island from Oahu.
- 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.
- On 31 August 2006, the super typhoon Ioke struck Wake Island.
- 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.
- 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.
Facts about Columbia Regional Airport (COU):
- Prior to 2001 service was operated by Trans World Express using Jetstream 41 aircraft to St.
- Columbia Regional Airport is a city owned, public use airport located 10 nautical miles southeast of the central business district of Columbia, a city in Boone County, Missouri, United States.
- The closest airport to Columbia Regional Airport (COU) is Jefferson City Memorial Airport (JEF), which is located only 16 miles (26 kilometers) SSE of COU.
- Columbia Regional Airport (COU) has 2 runways.
- Scheduled passenger service was subsidized by the U.S.
- In August 2012, Frontier Airlines announced plans to have twice weekly flights from Columbia to Orlando.
- The furthest airport from Columbia Regional Airport (COU) is Margaret River Airport (MGV), which is located 10,886 miles (17,519 kilometers) away in Margaret River, Western Australia, Australia.
- Because of Columbia Regional Airport's relatively low elevation of 889 feet, planes can take off or land at Columbia Regional 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.