Nonstop flight route between Prestwick (near Glasgow), Scotland, United Kingdom and Shearwater, Nova Scotia, Canada:
Departure Airport:
Arrival Airport:
Distance from PIK to YAW:
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- About this route
- PIK Airport Information
- YAW Airport Information
- Facts about PIK
- Facts about YAW
- Map of Nearest Airports to PIK
- List of Nearest Airports to PIK
- Map of Furthest Airports from PIK
- List of Furthest Airports from PIK
- Map of Nearest Airports to YAW
- List of Nearest Airports to YAW
- Map of Furthest Airports from YAW
- List of Furthest Airports from YAW
About this route:
A direct, nonstop flight between Glasgow-Prestwick Airport (PIK), Prestwick (near Glasgow), Scotland, United Kingdom and Shearwater Heliport (YAW), Shearwater, Nova Scotia, Canada would travel a Great Circle distance of 2,631 miles (or 4,234 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 Glasgow-Prestwick 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 Glasgow-Prestwick Airport and Shearwater Heliport. You'll see that it will travel the same route of the red line on this map!
Departure Airport Information:
| IATA / ICAO Codes: | PIK / EGPK |
| Airport Name: | Glasgow-Prestwick Airport |
| Location: | Prestwick (near Glasgow), Scotland, United Kingdom |
| GPS Coordinates: | 55°30'33"N by 4°35'39"W |
| Area Served: | Glasgow, Prestwick, Strathclyde, Scotland |
| Operator/Owner: | Scottish Government |
| Airport Type: | Public |
| Elevation: | 65 feet (20 meters) |
| # of Runways: | 2 |
| View all routes: | Routes from PIK |
| More Information: | PIK Maps & Info |
Arrival Airport Information:
| IATA / ICAO Codes: | YAW / CYAW |
| Airport Names: |
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| Location: | Shearwater, Nova Scotia, Canada |
| GPS Coordinates: | 44°38'13"N by 63°30'7"W |
| Operator/Owner: | Government of Canada |
| Airport Type: | Military |
| Elevation: | 144 feet (44 meters) |
| View all routes: | Routes from YAW |
| More Information: | YAW Maps & Info |
Facts about Glasgow-Prestwick Airport (PIK):
- On 1 April 2014, The Robert Burns World Federation told Scottish MPs at Holyrood to rename the airport to Robert Burns International Airport a petition was created to rename it as well and was discussed by the public petition committee.
- Today, part of the Prestwick site is occupied by the Royal Navy Fleet Air Arm with RNAS Prestwick, where a detachment of 3 Sea Kings provide a search and rescue role, covering one of the largest SAR areas of the UK including Ben Nevis, the Lakes, Northern Ireland and 200 NM past the Irish coast.
- 1992 marked the beginning of a renaissance for the struggling airport when purchased by "Canadian entrepreneur" Matthew Hudson in a "dramatic rescue".
- The closest airport to Glasgow-Prestwick Airport (PIK) is Glasgow International Airport (GLA), which is located 26 miles (42 kilometers) NNE of PIK.
- Glasgow Prestwick Airport is considered to be the only piece of United Kingdom territory on which Elvis Presley ever set foot, when the United States Army transport plane carrying him home stopped to refuel in 1960, en route from Germany.
- Glasgow-Prestwick Airport handled 1,145,836 passengers last year.
- Glasgow-Prestwick Airport (PIK) has 2 runways.
- The furthest airport from Glasgow-Prestwick Airport (PIK) is Ryan's Creek Aerodrome (SZS), which is located 11,764 miles (18,932 kilometers) away in Stewart Island, New Zealand.
- Because of Glasgow-Prestwick Airport's relatively low elevation of 65 feet, planes can take off or land at Glasgow-Prestwick 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.
Facts about Shearwater Heliport (YAW):
- 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.
- 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.
- As part of the heliport conversion project, the old runway 16/34 was permanently closed and placed outside of a new fence for the Shearwater Heliport, as shown in the Canada Flight Supplement effective 31 July 2008.
- 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.
- The closest airport to Shearwater Heliport (YAW) is Halifax Stanfield International Airport (YHZ), which is located only 17 miles (27 kilometers) N of YAW.
- Post-war, 1948, the Royal Canadian Navy took over the facility, naming it HMCS Shearwater, also known as Royal Canadian Naval Air Station Shearwater.
- In addition to being known as "Shearwater Heliport", other names for YAW include "Halifax/Shearwater Heliport", "12 Wing Shearwater" and "CFB Shearwater".
- Defence cutbacks and unit and facility realignments from 1994 to 1996 saw CFB Shearwater stand down as a separate formation and the facility merged as an airfield attached to CFB Halifax.
