Nonstop flight route between Skagway, Alaska, United States and Guantanamo Bay, Cuba:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Skagway Airport (SGY), Skagway, Alaska, United States and United States Naval Station Guantanamo Bay (NBW), Guantanamo Bay, Cuba would travel a Great Circle distance of 4,003 miles (or 6,442 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 Skagway Airport and United States Naval Station Guantanamo Bay, 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 Skagway Airport and United States Naval Station Guantanamo Bay. 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 Skagway Airport (SGY):

• Because of Skagway Airport's relatively low elevation of 44 feet, planes can take off or land at Skagway 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.
• Skagway Airport (SGY) currently has only 1 runway.
• This airport is included in the National Plan of Integrated Airport Systems for 2011–2015, which categorized it as a primary commercial service airport.
• The closest airport to Skagway Airport (SGY) is Haines Airport (HNS), which is located only 17 miles (27 kilometers) SSW of SGY.
• The furthest airport from Skagway Airport (SGY) is Port Elizabeth International Airport (PLZ), which is located 10,474 miles (16,857 kilometers) away in Port Elizabeth, South Africa.

Facts about United States Naval Station Guantanamo Bay (NBW):

• "Cactus Curtain" is a term describing the line separating the naval base from Cuban-controlled territory.
• Since 2002, the naval base has contained a military prison, the Guantanamo Bay detention camp, for alleged unlawful combatants captured in Afghanistan, Iraq, and other places.
• Since 1939, the base's water had been supplied by pipelines that drew water from the Yateras River about 4.5 miles northeast of the base.
• The furthest airport from United States Naval Station Guantanamo Bay (NBW) is RAAF Learmonth (LEA), which is located 11,820 miles (19,022 kilometers) away in Exmouth, Western Australia, Australia.
• In 2005, the Navy completed a $12 million wind project erecting four wind turbines capable of supplying about a quarter of the base's peak power needs, reducing diesel fuel usage and pollution from the existing diesel generators, while saving $1.2 million in annual energy costs.
• President Barack Obama said he intends to close the detention camp, and plans to bring detainees to the United States to stand trial by the end of his first term in office.
• The closest airport to United States Naval Station Guantanamo Bay (NBW) is Mariana Grajales Airport (GAO), which is located only 13 miles (21 kilometers) N of NBW.
• In January 2009, President Obama signed executive orders directing the CIA to shut what remains of its network of "secret" prisons and ordering the closing of the Guantánamo detention camp within a year.
• During the Cuban missile crisis in 1962, the families of military personnel were evacuated from the base.