Nonstop flight route between Wake Island, United States Minor Outlying Islands and Swansea, Wales, United Kingdom:
Departure Airport:
Arrival Airport:
Distance from AWK to SWS:
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- About this route
- AWK Airport Information
- SWS Airport Information
- Facts about AWK
- Facts about SWS
- Map of Nearest Airports to AWK
- List of Nearest Airports to AWK
- Map of Furthest Airports from AWK
- List of Furthest Airports from AWK
- Map of Nearest Airports to SWS
- List of Nearest Airports to SWS
- Map of Furthest Airports from SWS
- List of Furthest Airports from SWS
About this route:
A direct, nonstop flight between Wake Island Airfield (AWK), Wake Island, United States Minor Outlying Islands and Swansea Airport (SWS), Swansea, Wales, United Kingdom would travel a Great Circle distance of 7,507 miles (or 12,081 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 Swansea 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 Swansea Airport. You'll see that it will travel the same route of the red line on this map!
Departure Airport Information:
| IATA / ICAO Codes: | AWK / PWAK |
| Airport Name: | Wake Island Airfield |
| Location: | Wake Island, United States Minor Outlying Islands |
| GPS Coordinates: | 19°16'56"N by 166°38'12"E |
| Operator/Owner: | U.S. Air Force |
| Airport Type: | Military |
| Elevation: | 23 feet (7 meters) |
| # of Runways: | 1 |
| View all routes: | Routes from AWK |
| More Information: | AWK Maps & Info |
Arrival Airport Information:
| IATA / ICAO Codes: | SWS / EGFH |
| Airport Name: | Swansea Airport |
| Location: | Swansea, Wales, United Kingdom |
| GPS Coordinates: | 51°36'19"N by 4°4'4"W |
| Operator/Owner: | Swansea Airport Ltd. |
| Airport Type: | Public |
| Elevation: | 299 feet (91 meters) |
| # of Runways: | 2 |
| View all routes: | Routes from SWS |
| More Information: | SWS Maps & Info |
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.
- Wake Island Airfield (AWK) currently has only 1 runway.
- On 31 August 2006, the super typhoon Ioke struck Wake Island.
- The closest airport to Wake Island Airfield (AWK) is Quoin Hill Airfield (UIQ), which is located 169 miles (272 kilometers) SE of 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.
- British Overseas Airways Corporation also used Wake Island as a refueling stop.
- 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.
- 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.
Facts about Swansea Airport (SWS):
- The closest airport to Swansea Airport (SWS) is MoD St Athan (DGX), which is located 31 miles (49 kilometers) ESE of SWS.
- Air Wales used the airport between October 2001 and October 2004, offering flights to Dublin, Cork, Amsterdam, Jersey and London.
- The furthest airport from Swansea Airport (SWS) is Dunedin International Airport (DUD), which is located 11,966 miles (19,257 kilometers) away in Dunedin, Otago, New Zealand.
- De Havilland Aviation were based at the airport from 1996 to 2002 restoring former de Havilland military and naval aircraft to flying condition, including Vampires, Venom, Sea Devon and Sea Vixen.
- The airport is mainly used to handle light helicopters and small private aircraft.
- The aerodrome fulfilled a variety of military roles during World War II, with the addition of an Armament Practice Camp in October 1943 which expanded into an Armament Practice Station in July 1945 following which it went into 'care and maintenance' in October 1946.
- Because of Swansea Airport's relatively low elevation of 299 feet, planes can take off or land at Swansea 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 1990s saw the arrival of Heli-air Wales to the airport, and so began the era of Helicopter Training in South Wales.
- The fire brigade at Swansea is CAT 1, and able to do CAT 2 on request.
- Swansea Airport (SWS) has 2 runways.
