Nonstop flight route between Wake Island, United States Minor Outlying Islands and Cape Palmas, Liberia:
Departure Airport:

Arrival Airport:

Distance from AWK to CPA:
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- About this route
- AWK Airport Information
- CPA Airport Information
- Facts about AWK
- Facts about CPA
- 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 CPA
- List of Nearest Airports to CPA
- Map of Furthest Airports from CPA
- List of Furthest Airports from CPA
About this route:
A direct, nonstop flight between Wake Island Airfield (AWK), Wake Island, United States Minor Outlying Islands and Cape Palmas Airport (CPA), Cape Palmas, Liberia would travel a Great Circle distance of 10,757 miles (or 17,312 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 Cape Palmas 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 Cape Palmas 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: | CPA / GLCP |
Airport Name: | Cape Palmas Airport |
Location: | Cape Palmas, Liberia |
GPS Coordinates: | 4°22'45"N by 7°41'48"W |
Area Served: | Harper |
Airport Type: | Public |
Elevation: | 20 feet (6 meters) |
# of Runways: | 1 |
View all routes: | Routes from CPA |
More Information: | CPA Maps & Info |
Facts about Wake Island Airfield (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 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.
- 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.
- 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.
- 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.
- Wake Island Airfield (AWK) currently has only 1 runway.
- 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 Cape Palmas Airport (CPA):
- The closest airport to Cape Palmas Airport (CPA) is Sasstown Airport (SAZ), which is located 54 miles (88 kilometers) WNW of CPA.
- Because of Cape Palmas Airport's relatively low elevation of 20 feet, planes can take off or land at Cape Palmas 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 furthest airport from Cape Palmas Airport (CPA) is Aranuka Airport (AAK), which is nearly antipodal to Cape Palmas Airport (meaning Cape Palmas Airport is almost on the exact opposite side of the Earth from Aranuka Airport), and is located 12,108 miles (19,486 kilometers) away in Aranuka, Kiribati.
- Cape Palmas Airport (CPA) currently has only 1 runway.