Nonstop flight route between Massawa, Eritrea and Shearwater, Nova Scotia, Canada:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Massawa International Airport (MSW), Massawa, Eritrea and Shearwater Heliport (YAW), Shearwater, Nova Scotia, Canada would travel a Great Circle distance of 6,071 miles (or 9,770 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 Massawa International Airport and Shearwater Heliport, 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 Massawa International Airport and Shearwater Heliport. You'll see that it will travel the same route of the red line on this map!

Departure Airport Information:

Arrival Airport Information:

Facts about Massawa International Airport (MSW):

• Massawa International Airport is an airport in Massawa, a major city in the Northern Red Sea region of Eritrea.
• The furthest airport from Massawa International Airport (MSW) is Fangatau Airport (FGU), which is nearly antipodal to Massawa International Airport (meaning Massawa International Airport is almost on the exact opposite side of the Earth from Fangatau Airport), and is located 12,417 miles (19,984 kilometers) away in Fangatau, French Polynesia.
• In the colonial period, a 1970 km line was established between Massawa-Djibouti-Berbera-Galadi-Mogadishu.
• Because of Massawa International Airport's relatively low elevation of 206 feet, planes can take off or land at Massawa International 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.
• Massawa International Airport (MSW) currently has only 1 runway.
• The Eritrea Investment Centre has proposed a new $60 million development project at the airport.
• The closest airport to Massawa International Airport (MSW) is Asmara International Airport (ASM), which is located 41 miles (66 kilometers) SW of MSW.

Facts about Shearwater Heliport (YAW):

• In addition to being known as "Shearwater Heliport", other names for YAW include "Halifax/Shearwater Heliport", "12 Wing Shearwater" and "CFB Shearwater".
• These changes allowed for heliport operations including instrument approaches and were accompanied with the construction of other non-airfield facilities in support of the Maritime Helicopter Project.
• The closest airport to Shearwater Heliport (YAW) is Halifax Stanfield International Airport (YHZ), which is located only 17 miles (27 kilometers) N of YAW.
• The furthest airport from Shearwater Heliport (YAW) is Albany Airport (ALH), which is located 11,763 miles (18,931 kilometers) away in Albany, Western Australia, Australia.
• Following a base rationalization program in the mid-1990s, the Canadian Forces closed CFB Shearwater as a separate formation and realigned the property's various facilities into CFB Halifax.
• Because of Shearwater Heliport's relatively low elevation of 144 feet, planes can take off or land at Shearwater Heliport 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.
• Beginning in the 1970s, CFB Shearwater began hosting an Armed Forces Day every fall, typically on the weekend following Labour Day, and included an air show where the long and wide runways at Shearwater hosted some of the largest aircraft in the world, including the U.S.