Nonstop flight route between Wake Island, United States Minor Outlying Islands and Francistown, Botswana:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Wake Island Airfield (AWK), Wake Island, United States Minor Outlying Islands and Francistown International Airport/Francistown Air Base (FRW), Francistown, Botswana would travel a Great Circle distance of 9,793 miles (or 15,760 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 Francistown International Airport/Francistown Air Base, 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 Francistown International Airport/Francistown Air Base. 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.
• 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.
• The closest airport to Wake Island Airfield (AWK) is Quoin Hill Airfield (UIQ), which is located 169 miles (272 kilometers) SE of AWK.
• 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.
• 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 Francistown International Airport/Francistown Air Base (FRW):

• The new terminal building opened in 2011 and the old terminal is now used by the Botswana Defence Force.
• The closest airport to Francistown International Airport/Francistown Air Base (FRW) is Joshua Mqabuko Nkomo International Airport (BUQ), which is located 108 miles (174 kilometers) NE of FRW.
• The furthest airport from Francistown International Airport/Francistown Air Base (FRW) is Hilo International Airport (ITO), which is nearly antipodal to Francistown International Airport/Francistown Air Base (meaning Francistown International Airport/Francistown Air Base is almost on the exact opposite side of the Earth from Hilo International Airport), and is located 12,246 miles (19,707 kilometers) away in Hilo, Hawaii, United States.
• Francistown International Airport/Francistown Air Base (FRW) has 2 runways.
• In 2011 the airport's ownership of the old terminal was transferred to the Botswana Defence Force and became a military airport, with civilian traffic moved to the new Francistown International Airport terminal to the west of the airport lands.
• In addition to being known as "Francistown International Airport/Francistown Air Base", another name for FRW is "FBFT [1]".
• Francistown is home to Botswana Defence Force Air Wing's Z3 Transport Squadron and Z12 Transport Squadron.
• The estimated cost for all three expansion phases is expected to exceed P500 million, and will all be completed at the same time, around May 2010.