Nonstop flight route between Wake Island, United States Minor Outlying Islands and Memphis, Tennessee, United States:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Wake Island Airfield (AWK), Wake Island, United States Minor Outlying Islands and Memphis International Airport (MEM), Memphis, Tennessee, United States would travel a Great Circle distance of 6,176 miles (or 9,939 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 Memphis 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 Memphis 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):

• 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 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.
• 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.
• Wake Island Airfield (AWK) currently has only 1 runway.
• The closest airport to Wake Island Airfield (AWK) is Quoin Hill Airfield (UIQ), which is located 169 miles (272 kilometers) SE of AWK.
• 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 Memphis International Airport (MEM):

• Memphis International Airport (MEM) has 4 runways.
• Memphis International Airport handled 7,874,888 passengers last year.
• The furthest airport from Memphis International Airport (MEM) is Margaret River Airport (MGV), which is located 11,010 miles (17,719 kilometers) away in Margaret River, Western Australia, Australia.
• Since 2009 the airport has been a small hub for small regional airline SeaPort Airlines, which has single-engine flights to communities in Arkansas through the Essential Air Service program.
• The closest airport to Memphis International Airport (MEM) is Olive Branch Airport (OLV), which is located only 12 miles (19 kilometers) ESE of MEM.
• Because of Memphis International Airport's relatively low elevation of 341 feet, planes can take off or land at Memphis 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.
• The Memphis Air Route Traffic Control Center is on the airport grounds at 3229 Democrat Road, TN 38118.
• From 1993 to 2009 Memphis had the largest cargo operations of any airport worldwide.
• In 2008 the airport began expanding its control tower and parking garages.