Nonstop flight route between Parakou, Benin and Shearwater, Nova Scotia, Canada:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Parakou Airport (PKO), Parakou, Benin and Shearwater Heliport (YAW), Shearwater, Nova Scotia, Canada would travel a Great Circle distance of 4,596 miles (or 7,396 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 Parakou 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 Parakou 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 Parakou Airport (PKO):

• Parakou Airport (PKO) currently has only 1 runway.
• In addition to being known as "Parakou Airport", another name for PKO is "Parakou Airport (Parakou)".
• The closest airport to Parakou Airport (PKO) is Djougou Airport (DJA), which is located 70 miles (113 kilometers) WNW of PKO.
• The furthest airport from Parakou Airport (PKO) is Funafuti International Airport (FUN), which is nearly antipodal to Parakou Airport (meaning Parakou Airport is almost on the exact opposite side of the Earth from Funafuti International Airport), and is located 12,197 miles (19,629 kilometers) away in Funafuti, Tuvalu.

Facts about Shearwater Heliport (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.
• Shearwater Heliport's primary mission remains as a heliport in support of the Royal Canadian Navy's Maritime Forces Atlantic warships with shipborne helicopters operated by 12 Wing, a unit of the Royal Canadian Air Force.
• In addition to being known as "Shearwater Heliport", other names for YAW include "Halifax/Shearwater Heliport", "12 Wing Shearwater" and "CFB Shearwater".
• 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.
• 12 Wing's squadrons at Shearwater Heliport in Nova Scotia and at Patricia Bay in British Columbia currently operate the Sikorsky CH-124 Sea King but is expected to re-equip with the Sikorsky CH-148 Cyclone commencing in 2012 with the conclusion 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 inconvenience of not having a ground component for the "Nova Scotia International Air Show" as a result of the Shearwater Heliport Conversion Project saw the entire event moved to Halifax Stanfield International Airport beginning in 2004.
• 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.