Nonstop flight route between Wake Island, United States Minor Outlying Islands and Fresno, California, United States:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Wake Island Airfield (AWK), Wake Island, United States Minor Outlying Islands and Fresno Yosemite International Airport (FAT), Fresno, California, United States would travel a Great Circle distance of 4,543 miles (or 7,312 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 Fresno Yosemite 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 Fresno Yosemite 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):

• Wake Island Airfield (AWK) currently has only 1 runway.
• 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.
• British Overseas Airways Corporation also used Wake Island as a refueling stop.
• 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.
• 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.

Facts about Fresno Yosemite International Airport (FAT):

• In the 1990s there was a shift to smaller regional jet and turboprop aircraft.
• In 1988 the FAA designated the airport an "International Point of Entry", allowing international flights.
• Fresno is the largest city in the continental United States not served by Southwest Airlines.
• The closest airport to Fresno Yosemite International Airport (FAT) is Fresno Chandler Executive AirportChandler Municipal Airport (Old) (FCH), which is located only 6 miles (10 kilometers) WSW of FAT.
• The furthest airport from Fresno Yosemite International Airport (FAT) is Pierrefonds Airport (ZSE), which is located 11,330 miles (18,234 kilometers) away in Saint-Pierre, Réunion.
• Fresno Yosemite International Airport (FAT) has 2 runways.
• A US$30 million construction project is under way to widen, lengthen and strengthen secondary runway 11R/29L with scheduled completion in October 2012.
• Fresno Yosemite International Airport handled 569,879 passengers last year.
• The most prominent airlines at Fresno are Skywest Airlines for United Express and Delta Connection, Mesa Airlines for US Airways Express, American Airlines, and Horizon Air.
• Because of Fresno Yosemite International Airport's relatively low elevation of 336 feet, planes can take off or land at Fresno Yosemite 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.