Nonstop flight route between Oryol, Russia and Wake Island, United States Minor Outlying Islands:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Yuzhny Airport (OEL), Oryol, Russia and Wake Island Airfield (AWK), Wake Island, United States Minor Outlying Islands would travel a Great Circle distance of 6,643 miles (or 10,690 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 Yuzhny 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 Yuzhny 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:

Arrival Airport Information:

Facts about Yuzhny Airport (OEL):

• In addition to being known as "Yuzhny Airport", other names for OEL include "Аэропорт Южный" and "UUOR".
• Because of Yuzhny Airport's relatively low elevation of 656 feet, planes can take off or land at Yuzhny 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.
• The furthest airport from Yuzhny Airport (OEL) is Chatham Islands (CHT), which is located 10,836 miles (17,440 kilometers) away in Waitangi, Chatham Islands, New Zealand.
• The closest airport to Yuzhny Airport (OEL) is Bryansk International Airport (BZK), which is located 78 miles (126 kilometers) WNW of OEL.
• Yuzhny Airport (OEL) currently has only 1 runway.

Facts about Wake Island Airfield (AWK):

• British Overseas Airways Corporation also used Wake Island as a refueling stop.
• Wake Island Airfield (AWK) currently has only 1 runway.
• The closest airport to Wake Island Airfield (AWK) is Quoin Hill Airfield (UIQ), which is located 169 miles (272 kilometers) SE of 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.
• 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.
• 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 first intention to build an air base surfaced in 1935, when Pan American World Airways selected Wake Island as an intermediate support base for their routes to the Far East, especially the Philippines.
• 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.