Nonstop flight route between Wake Island, United States Minor Outlying Islands and Alert, Nunavut, Canada:
Departure Airport:

Arrival Airport:

Distance from AWK to YLT:
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- About this route
- AWK Airport Information
- YLT Airport Information
- Facts about AWK
- Facts about YLT
- 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 YLT
- List of Nearest Airports to YLT
- Map of Furthest Airports from YLT
- List of Furthest Airports from YLT
About this route:
A direct, nonstop flight between Wake Island Airfield (AWK), Wake Island, United States Minor Outlying Islands and Alert Airport (YLT), Alert, Nunavut, Canada would travel a Great Circle distance of 5,232 miles (or 8,420 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 Alert 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 Alert 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: | YLT / CYLT |
Airport Name: | Alert Airport |
Location: | Alert, Nunavut, Canada |
GPS Coordinates: | 82°31'4"N by 62°16'50"W |
Operator/Owner: | DND/1CdnAirDiv Alert AMO Ottawa |
Airport Type: | Military |
Elevation: | 100 feet (30 meters) |
# of Runways: | 1 |
View all routes: | Routes from YLT |
More Information: | YLT 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.
- 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.
- 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.
- 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.
- The closest airport to Wake Island Airfield (AWK) is Quoin Hill Airfield (UIQ), which is located 169 miles (272 kilometers) SE of AWK.
- On 31 August 2006, the super typhoon Ioke struck Wake Island.
- Wake Island Airfield (AWK) currently has only 1 runway.
- British Overseas Airways Corporation also used Wake Island as a refueling stop.
Facts about Alert Airport (YLT):
- The furthest airport from Alert Airport (YLT) is Teniente Rodolfo Marsh Airport (TNM), which is located 9,999 miles (16,092 kilometers) away in Villa Las Estrellas, Antarctica.
- The closest airport to Alert Airport (YLT) is Eureka Aerodrome (YEU), which is located 299 miles (481 kilometers) WSW of YLT.
- Because of Alert Airport's relatively low elevation of 100 feet, planes can take off or land at Alert 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.
- Alert Airport (YLT) currently has only 1 runway.
- A weather station was established on the site in 1950, and in 1957 construction began on the military facilities which are still in use to this day.
- Alert Airport is the world's northernmost permanent airport, located at Alert, Nunavut, Canada, approximately 830 km south of the true North Pole.