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

Arrival Airport:

Distance from AWK to YYM:
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- About this route
- AWK Airport Information
- YYM Airport Information
- Facts about AWK
- Facts about YYM
- 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 YYM
- List of Nearest Airports to YYM
- Map of Furthest Airports from YYM
- List of Furthest Airports from YYM
About this route:
A direct, nonstop flight between Wake Island Airfield (AWK), Wake Island, United States Minor Outlying Islands and Cowley Airport (YYM), Cowley, Alberta, Canada would travel a Great Circle distance of 4,737 miles (or 7,624 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 Cowley 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 Cowley 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: | YYM / CYYM |
Airport Name: | Cowley Airport |
Location: | Cowley, Alberta, Canada |
GPS Coordinates: | 49°38'11"N by 114°5'39"W |
Operator/Owner: | Alberta Soaring Council |
Airport Type: | Private |
Elevation: | 3876 feet (1,181 meters) |
# of Runways: | 2 |
View all routes: | Routes from YYM |
More Information: | YYM 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.
- Wake Island Airfield (AWK) currently has only 1 runway.
- 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.
- 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.
- After pioneering air service into Wake Island in 1935, Pan American World Airways continued to serve the airfield for many years.
- 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.
Facts about Cowley Airport (YYM):
- Cowley Airport (YYM) has 2 runways.
- The closest airport to Cowley Airport (YYM) is Pincher Creek Airport (WPC), which is located only 9 miles (15 kilometers) SSE of YYM.
- The furthest airport from Cowley Airport (YYM) is Tôlanaro Airport (FTU), which is located 10,456 miles (16,828 kilometers) away in Tôlanaro, Madagascar.