Nonstop flight route between Piarco (near Port of Spain), Trinidad and Tobago and Wake Island, United States Minor Outlying Islands:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Piarco International Airport (POS), Piarco (near Port of Spain), Trinidad and Tobago and Wake Island Airfield (AWK), Wake Island, United States Minor Outlying Islands would travel a Great Circle distance of 8,573 miles (or 13,798 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 Piarco International 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 Piarco International 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 Piarco International Airport (POS):

• The closest airport to Piarco International Airport (POS) is A.N.R. Robinson International Airport (TAB), which is located 51 miles (83 kilometers) NE of POS.
• Piarco International Airport (POS) currently has only 1 runway.
• A major expansion of the airport, which included the construction of a new terminal building, and high-speed taxiways, was completed in 2001.
• The furthest airport from Piarco International Airport (POS) is Umbu Mehang Kunda Airport (WGP), which is nearly antipodal to Piarco International Airport (meaning Piarco International Airport is almost on the exact opposite side of the Earth from Umbu Mehang Kunda Airport), and is located 12,308 miles (19,808 kilometers) away in Waingapu, Sumba, East Nusa Tenggara, Indonesia.
• Because of Piarco International Airport's relatively low elevation of 58 feet, planes can take off or land at Piarco 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.
• In addition to passenger airlines, the airport also handles cargo traffic, general aviation, military and helicopter flights to the many oil rigs present offshore.
• The airport is also large enough to accommodate most international widebody airliners including the Boeing 747, Airbus A330-300, Boeing 777, Boeing 767 and the Airbus A340.
• In addition to being known as "Piarco International Airport", another name for POS is "78970[1][2]".

Facts about Wake Island Airfield (AWK):

• 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.
• Between 5 and 29 May 1935, Pan American's air base construction vessel, North Haven, landed supplies and equipment on Wilkes Island for eventual rehandling to Peale Island which, because of its more suitable soil and geology, had been selected as site for the PAA seaplane base.
• 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.
• After pioneering air service into Wake Island in 1935, Pan American World Airways continued to serve the airfield for many years.
• 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.
• 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.
• 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.