Nonstop flight route between Wake Island, United States Minor Outlying Islands and Medan, Indonesia:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Wake Island Airfield (AWK), Wake Island, United States Minor Outlying Islands and Polonia International Airport (MES), Medan, Indonesia would travel a Great Circle distance of 4,701 miles (or 7,566 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 Polonia 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 Polonia 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 closest airport to Wake Island Airfield (AWK) is Quoin Hill Airfield (UIQ), which is located 169 miles (272 kilometers) SE of AWK.
• Wake Island Airfield (AWK) currently has only 1 runway.
• 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.
• 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.
• 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.
• After pioneering air service into Wake Island in 1935, Pan American World Airways continued to serve the airfield for many years.

Facts about Polonia International Airport (MES):

• The furthest airport from Polonia International Airport (MES) is Cap. FAP Pedro Canga Rodríguez Airport (TBP), which is nearly antipodal to Polonia International Airport (meaning Polonia International Airport is almost on the exact opposite side of the Earth from Cap. FAP Pedro Canga Rodríguez Airport), and is located 12,371 miles (19,910 kilometers) away in Tumbes, Peru.
• The airport suffered from overcrowding, serving 7,5 million passengers annually in facilities designed to handle only 900,000 passengers.
• The closest airport to Polonia International Airport (MES) is Kualanamu International Airport (KNO), which is located only 15 miles (24 kilometers) ENE of MES.
• Because of Polonia International Airport's relatively low elevation of 114 feet, planes can take off or land at Polonia 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.
• All flights and services from this airport shifted to Kuala Namu International Airport on 25 July 2013.
• After the ferry flights were completed, all of the airport activity officially shifted to Kuala Namu International Airport.
• In addition to being known as "Polonia International Airport", other names for MES include "Bandar Udara Internasional Polonia" and "WIMK".
• After this first landing, the Assistant Resident of Eastern Sumatra C.S.