Nonstop flight route between Wake Island, United States Minor Outlying Islands and London, England, United Kingdom:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Wake Island Airfield (AWK), Wake Island, United States Minor Outlying Islands and Gatwick Airport (LGW), London, England, United Kingdom would travel a Great Circle distance of 7,505 miles (or 12,078 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 Gatwick 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 Gatwick 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.
• 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.
• 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.
• 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.
• 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 closest airport to Wake Island Airfield (AWK) is Quoin Hill Airfield (UIQ), which is located 169 miles (272 kilometers) SE of AWK.
• On 26 December 1940, implementing the Hepburn Board's recommendations, a pioneer party of 80 men and 2,000 short tons of equipment sailed for Wake Island from Oahu.

Facts about Gatwick Airport (LGW):

• Gatwick Airport (LGW) has 2 runways.
• In May 1950, Gatwick's first charter flight left the airport's original grass runway for Calvi on the Mediterranean island of Corsica.
• During the late 1920s, land adjacent to the racecourse was used as an aerodrome.
• Gatwick Airport handled 35,444,206 passengers last year.
• On 9 April 1965, a BUA One-Eleven operated the type's first commercial service from Gatwick to Genoa.
• The closest airport to Gatwick Airport (LGW) is Redhill Aerodrome (KRH), which is located only 5 miles (8 kilometers) NNE of LGW.
• The furthest airport from Gatwick Airport (LGW) is Chatham Islands (CHT), which is located 11,901 miles (19,152 kilometers) away in Waitangi, Chatham Islands, New Zealand.
• Because of Gatwick Airport's relatively low elevation of 203 feet, planes can take off or land at Gatwick 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 20th anniversary of Gatwick's reopening by Queen Elizabeth II on 9 June 1978 coincided with the introduction by BCal, British Airways Helicopters and the BAA of Airlink, a helicopter shuttle service operating 10 times daily to Heathrow.
• The Redwing Aircraft Company bought the aerodrome in 1932, and operated a flying school.