Nonstop flight route between Wake Island, United States Minor Outlying Islands and Yambol (Jambol), Bulgaria:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Wake Island Airfield (AWK), Wake Island, United States Minor Outlying Islands and Bezmer Air Base (JAM), Yambol (Jambol), Bulgaria would travel a Great Circle distance of 7,478 miles (or 12,034 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 Bezmer 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 Bezmer 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):

• 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.
• 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.
• 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.
• British Overseas Airways Corporation also used Wake Island as a refueling stop.

Facts about Bezmer Air Base (JAM):

• The furthest airport from Bezmer Air Base (JAM) is Chatham Islands (CHT), which is located 11,287 miles (18,164 kilometers) away in Waitangi, Chatham Islands, New Zealand.
• The base has a modern communication, information and navigation system.
• In addition to being known as "Bezmer Air Base", another name for JAM is "LBIA".
• Because of Bezmer Air Base's relatively low elevation of 509 feet, planes can take off or land at Bezmer Air Base 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 Bezmer Air Base (JAM) is Stara Zagora Airport (SZR), which is located 36 miles (58 kilometers) W of JAM.
• Bezmer Air Base (JAM) currently has only 1 runway.
• The strategic location and particularly favorable weather conditions of the area was appreciated already during World War I, when the Imperial German Air Service built in Yambol a base for zeppelins used for reconnaissance and bombing missions to Romania, Russia, Sudan and Malta.
• The Bezmer Air Base is among the joint US-Bulgarian military bases established according to the 2006 Defense Cooperation Agreement between the United States and Bulgaria.