Nonstop flight route between Wake Island, United States Minor Outlying Islands and Punta Raisi (near Palermo), Italy:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Wake Island Airfield (AWK), Wake Island, United States Minor Outlying Islands and Falcone–Borsellino Airport (PMO), Punta Raisi (near Palermo), Italy would travel a Great Circle distance of 8,111 miles (or 13,053 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 Falcone–Borsellino 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 Falcone–Borsellino 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.
• 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 closest airport to Wake Island Airfield (AWK) is Quoin Hill Airfield (UIQ), which is located 169 miles (272 kilometers) SE of AWK.
• Another airline that operated into Wake Island was Philippine Airlines with Douglas DC-8 jetliners on a daily westbound service from San Francisco and Honolulu to Manila during the early 1970s.
• 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.
• After pioneering air service into Wake Island in 1935, Pan American World Airways continued to serve the airfield for many years.

Facts about Falcone–Borsellino Airport (PMO):

• Falcone–Borsellino Airport (PMO) has 2 runways.
• In addition to being known as "Falcone–Borsellino Airport", another name for PMO is "Aeroporto Falcone e Borsellino".
• The furthest airport from Falcone–Borsellino Airport (PMO) is Chatham Islands (CHT), which is located 11,805 miles (18,999 kilometers) away in Waitangi, Chatham Islands, New Zealand.
• Falcone–Borsellino Airport handled 4,349,672 passengers last year.
• In 1994, GESAP was charged with the partial management of the airport through a convention which granted the company a 20-year mandate to run land-side activities.
• Because of Falcone–Borsellino Airport's relatively low elevation of 65 feet, planes can take off or land at Falcone–Borsellino 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 closest airport to Falcone–Borsellino Airport (PMO) is Vincenzo Florio Airport Trapani-Birgi (TPS), which is located 38 miles (61 kilometers) WSW of PMO.
• The airport's rail facility, Punta Raisi railway station, is the northwestern terminus of Palermo metropolitan railway service.
• Today, after having recently transferred its handling sector to a controlled company, GH Palermo, GESAP is awaiting a ministerial decree that will grant it a forty-year concession for the total management of the airport.
• In April 1999, GESAP obtained an anticipated mandate to manage the airport's air side activities, and, more specifically, the flight infrastructure as foreseen by art.