Nonstop flight route between Richmond, Queensland, Australia and Wake Island, United States Minor Outlying Islands:
Departure Airport:

Arrival Airport:

Distance from RCM to AWK:
Share this route:
Jump to:
- About this route
- RCM Airport Information
- AWK Airport Information
- Facts about RCM
- Facts about AWK
- Map of Nearest Airports to RCM
- List of Nearest Airports to RCM
- Map of Furthest Airports from RCM
- List of Furthest Airports from RCM
- Map of Nearest Airports to AWK
- List of Nearest Airports to AWK
- Map of Furthest Airports from AWK
- List of Furthest Airports from AWK
About this route:
A direct, nonstop flight between Richmond Airport (RCM), Richmond, Queensland, Australia and Wake Island Airfield (AWK), Wake Island, United States Minor Outlying Islands would travel a Great Circle distance of 3,188 miles (or 5,131 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 Richmond 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 Richmond 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:
IATA / ICAO Codes: | RCM / YRMD |
Airport Name: | Richmond Airport |
Location: | Richmond, Queensland, Australia |
GPS Coordinates: | 20°42'6"S by 143°6'52"E |
Area Served: | Richmond, Queensland, Australia |
Operator/Owner: | Richmond Shire Council |
Airport Type: | Public |
Elevation: | 676 feet (206 meters) |
# of Runways: | 1 |
View all routes: | Routes from RCM |
More Information: | RCM Maps & Info |
Arrival Airport Information:
IATA / ICAO Codes: | AWK / PWAK |
Airport Name: | Wake Island Airfield |
Location: | Wake Island, United States Minor Outlying Islands |
GPS Coordinates: | 19°16'56"N by 166°38'12"E |
Operator/Owner: | U.S. Air Force |
Airport Type: | Military |
Elevation: | 23 feet (7 meters) |
# of Runways: | 1 |
View all routes: | Routes from AWK |
More Information: | AWK Maps & Info |
Facts about Richmond Airport (RCM):
- The closest airport to Richmond Airport (RCM) is Hughenden Airport (HGD), which is located 72 miles (116 kilometers) E of RCM.
- Because of Richmond Airport's relatively low elevation of 676 feet, planes can take off or land at Richmond 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 Richmond Airport (RCM) is Agostinho Neto Airport (NTO), which is located 11,629 miles (18,716 kilometers) away in Ponta do Sol, Santo Antão, Cape Verde.
- Richmond Airport (RCM) currently has only 1 runway.
Facts about Wake Island Airfield (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.
- 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.
- 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.
- 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.
- British Overseas Airways Corporation also used Wake Island as a refueling stop.
- The closest airport to Wake Island Airfield (AWK) is Quoin Hill Airfield (UIQ), which is located 169 miles (272 kilometers) SE of AWK.
- 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.