Nonstop flight route between Wake Island, United States Minor Outlying Islands and Upington, South Africa:
Departure Airport:

Arrival Airport:

Distance from AWK to UTN:
Share this route:
Jump to:
- About this route
- AWK Airport Information
- UTN Airport Information
- Facts about AWK
- Facts about UTN
- 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 UTN
- List of Nearest Airports to UTN
- Map of Furthest Airports from UTN
- List of Furthest Airports from UTN
About this route:
A direct, nonstop flight between Wake Island Airfield (AWK), Wake Island, United States Minor Outlying Islands and Upington Airport (UTN), Upington, South Africa would travel a Great Circle distance of 10,169 miles (or 16,365 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 Upington 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 Upington 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: | UTN / FAUP |
Airport Name: | Upington Airport |
Location: | Upington, South Africa |
GPS Coordinates: | 28°24'3"S by 21°15'34"E |
Area Served: | Upington, Northern Cape |
Airport Type: | Public (International for Cargo only) |
Elevation: | 2791 feet (851 meters) |
# of Runways: | 3 |
View all routes: | Routes from UTN |
More Information: | UTN Maps & Info |
Facts about Wake Island Airfield (AWK):
- 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.
- From 1935 until 1940, when two typhoons swept Wake with resultant extensive damage to the now elaborately developed Pan American facilities, development and use of the base were steady but uneventful.
- On 31 August 2006, the super typhoon Ioke struck Wake Island.
- 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.
- 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.
Facts about Upington Airport (UTN):
- The closest airport to Upington Airport (UTN) is Johan Pienaar Airport (KMH), which is located 147 miles (236 kilometers) ENE of UTN.
- The furthest airport from Upington Airport (UTN) is Princeville Airport (HPV), which is nearly antipodal to Upington Airport (meaning Upington Airport is almost on the exact opposite side of the Earth from Princeville Airport), and is located 12,007 miles (19,323 kilometers) away in Hanalei, Hawaii, United States.
- With the fall of the Portuguese regime in Angola, South African Airways lost its landing rights in Luanda.
- Private charter flights are provided by Walker Flying Services who operates Cessna 210 and Cessna 402 aircraft.
- Upington Airport serves as an international cargo hub.
- Upington Airport (UTN) has 3 runways.