Nonstop flight route between Guantanamo Bay, Cuba and Wake Island, United States Minor Outlying Islands:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between United States Naval Station Guantanamo Bay (NBW), Guantanamo Bay, Cuba and Wake Island Airfield (AWK), Wake Island, United States Minor Outlying Islands would travel a Great Circle distance of 7,454 miles (or 11,997 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 United States Naval Station Guantanamo Bay 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 United States Naval Station Guantanamo Bay and Wake Island Airfield. 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 United States Naval Station Guantanamo Bay (NBW):

• The closest airport to United States Naval Station Guantanamo Bay (NBW) is Mariana Grajales Airport (GAO), which is located only 13 miles (21 kilometers) N of NBW.
• "Cactus Curtain" is a term describing the line separating the naval base from Cuban-controlled territory.
• In January 2009, President Obama signed executive orders directing the CIA to shut what remains of its network of "secret" prisons and ordering the closing of the Guantánamo detention camp within a year.
• President Barack Obama said he intends to close the detention camp, and plans to bring detainees to the United States to stand trial by the end of his first term in office.
• During the war the base was set up to use a non-descript number for postal operations.
• The furthest airport from United States Naval Station Guantanamo Bay (NBW) is RAAF Learmonth (LEA), which is located 11,820 miles (19,022 kilometers) away in Exmouth, Western Australia, Australia.

Facts about Wake Island Airfield (AWK):

• 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.
• 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.
• After pioneering air service into Wake Island in 1935, Pan American World Airways continued to serve the airfield for many years.
• The closest airport to Wake Island Airfield (AWK) is Quoin Hill Airfield (UIQ), which is located 169 miles (272 kilometers) SE of AWK.
• On 26 December 1940, implementing the Hepburn Board's recommendations, a pioneer party of 80 men and 2,000 short tons of equipment sailed for Wake Island from Oahu.
• 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.