Nonstop flight route between Wake Island, United States Minor Outlying Islands and Nuuk, Greenland:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Wake Island Airfield (AWK), Wake Island, United States Minor Outlying Islands and Nuuk Airport (GOH), Nuuk, Greenland would travel a Great Circle distance of 6,318 miles (or 10,168 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 Nuuk 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 Nuuk 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):

• 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.
• 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.
• 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.
• On 31 August 2006, the super typhoon Ioke struck Wake Island.
• 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.
• Wake Island Airfield (AWK) currently has only 1 runway.
• Japan Airlines used both Wake Island and Honolulu as stops on its initial Tokyo-San Francisco service using Douglas DC-6s in the mid-1950s.

Facts about Nuuk Airport (GOH):

• The airline is opposed to relocation of its hub, citing the costs of such a move and consistently favourable weather conditions at Kangerlussuaq, located deep inland, about 30 km from the edge of the Greenland ice sheet.
• Nuuk Airport was built in 1979, when the then newly formed Home Rule government decided to create a network of the STOL-capable domestic airports.
• In addition to being known as "Nuuk Airport", other names for GOH include "Mittarfik Nuuk" and "Nuuk Lufthavn".
• Nuuk Airport handled 69,324 passengers last year.
• The closest airport to Nuuk Airport (GOH) is Maniitsoq Airport (JSU), which is located 92 miles (148 kilometers) NNW of GOH.
• Line 3 of Nuup Bussii connects the airport with Nuuk Centrum, passing through the Nuussuaq and Quassussuup Tungaa districts on the way.
• Another option mentioned is to have Keflavik, Iceland as the international hub, close Kangerlussuaq, and expand Nuuk Airport runway slightly, so small jet planes can use it.
• Air Greenland's seasonal flights to Iqaluit in Canada finally resumed in summer 2012, returning again in summer 2013.
• Nuuk Airport (GOH) currently has only 1 runway.
• Because of Nuuk Airport's relatively low elevation of 283 feet, planes can take off or land at Nuuk 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 Nuuk Airport (GOH) is Hobart International Airport (HBA), which is located 10,779 miles (17,347 kilometers) away in Hobart, Tasmania, Australia.