Nonstop flight route between Monrovia, Liberia and Wake Island, United States Minor Outlying Islands:
Departure Airport:

Arrival Airport:

Distance from MLW to AWK:
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- About this route
- MLW Airport Information
- AWK Airport Information
- Facts about MLW
- Facts about AWK
- Map of Nearest Airports to MLW
- List of Nearest Airports to MLW
- Map of Furthest Airports from MLW
- List of Furthest Airports from MLW
- Map of Nearest Airports to AWK
- List of Nearest Airports to AWK
- Map of Furthest Airports from AWK
- List of Furthest Airports from AWK
About this route:
A direct, nonstop flight between Spriggs Payne Airport (MLW), Monrovia, Liberia and Wake Island Airfield (AWK), Wake Island, United States Minor Outlying Islands would travel a Great Circle distance of 10,661 miles (or 17,157 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 Spriggs Payne Airport and Wake Island Airfield, 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 Spriggs Payne Airport and Wake Island Airfield. You'll see that it will travel the same route of the red line on this map!
Departure Airport Information:
IATA / ICAO Codes: | MLW / GLMR |
Airport Name: | Spriggs Payne Airport |
Location: | Monrovia, Liberia |
GPS Coordinates: | 6°17'21"N by 10°45'30"W |
Area Served: | Monrovia, Liberia |
Airport Type: | Public |
Elevation: | 25 feet (8 meters) |
# of Runways: | 1 |
View all routes: | Routes from MLW |
More Information: | MLW Maps & Info |
Arrival 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 |
Facts about Spriggs Payne Airport (MLW):
- Spriggs-Payne underwent a runway refurbishment during 2011 and 2012, necessitating the cessation of most flight operations.
- The furthest airport from Spriggs Payne Airport (MLW) is Nauru International Airport (INU), which is nearly antipodal to Spriggs Payne Airport (meaning Spriggs Payne Airport is almost on the exact opposite side of the Earth from Nauru International Airport), and is located 12,009 miles (19,327 kilometers) away in Yaren, Nauru.
- Because of Spriggs Payne Airport's relatively low elevation of 25 feet, planes can take off or land at Spriggs Payne 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.
- Spriggs Payne Airport (MLW) currently has only 1 runway.
- The closest airport to Spriggs Payne Airport (MLW) is Roberts International Airport Roberts Field (ROB), which is located 27 miles (44 kilometers) E of MLW.
- Elysian ceased operating in mid-2010, and the airport was left for a period without any scheduled commercial service.
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.
- The closest airport to Wake Island Airfield (AWK) is Quoin Hill Airfield (UIQ), which is located 169 miles (272 kilometers) SE of AWK.
- British Overseas Airways Corporation also used Wake Island as a refueling stop.
- 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.
- 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.
- Wake Island Airfield (AWK) currently has only 1 runway.