Nonstop flight route between Sal Island, Cape Verde and Shearwater, Nova Scotia, Canada:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Amílcar Cabral International Airport (SID), Sal Island, Cape Verde and Shearwater Heliport (YAW), Shearwater, Nova Scotia, Canada would travel a Great Circle distance of 3,036 miles (or 4,885 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 Amílcar Cabral International 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 Amílcar Cabral International 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 Amílcar Cabral International Airport (SID):

• The airport is located on the east side connecting with the road linking Espargos and Santa Maria, the island's main tourist destination.
• Amílcar Cabral International Airport (SID) has 2 runways.
• Amílcar Cabral International Airport handled 576 passengers last year.
• Because of Amílcar Cabral International Airport's relatively low elevation of 177 feet, planes can take off or land at Amílcar Cabral 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.
• The closest airport to Amílcar Cabral International Airport (SID) is Aristides Pereira International Airport (BVC), which is located 42 miles (68 kilometers) S of SID.
• The furthest airport from Amílcar Cabral International Airport (SID) is Bellona/Anua Airport (BNY), which is nearly antipodal to Amílcar Cabral International Airport (meaning Amílcar Cabral International Airport is almost on the exact opposite side of the Earth from Bellona/Anua Airport), and is located 12,018 miles (19,341 kilometers) away in Anua, Bellona Island, Solomon Islands.
• In addition to being known as "Amílcar Cabral International Airport", another name for SID is "Aeroporto Internacional Amílcar Cabral".
• The airport's main runway is 3,272m and is the longest in Cape Verde.
• Strangely, the duty-free shop is located after passport control but before security scanning, which only takes place as you enter the boarding lounge, which is shared for all four departure gates.
• It is located 2 km west-southwest from Espargos on Sal Island.
• The first airport on Sal Island was built in 1939 by Italy, as a fuel and provisions stopping-point on routes from Rome to South America.
• In 2011, the airport served 576.323 passengers.

Facts about Shearwater Heliport (YAW):

• These changes allowed for heliport operations including instrument approaches and were accompanied with the construction of other non-airfield facilities in support of the Maritime Helicopter Project.
• 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.
• In addition to being known as "Shearwater Heliport", other names for YAW include "Halifax/Shearwater Heliport", "12 Wing Shearwater" and "CFB Shearwater".
• Organizers of the "Nova Scotia International Air Show" continued to make use the Shearwater airfield for both ground displays and the air show component until 2002.
• 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.
• Base rationalization and defence budget cutbacks for the Canadian Forces during the mid-1990s saw a largely administrative move when the formation CFB Shearwater stood down and the facilities transferred to the formation CFB Halifax and aircraft operations becoming the responsibility of newly formed 12 Wing.
• 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.
• Beginning in the 1970s, CFB Shearwater began hosting an Armed Forces Day every fall, typically on the weekend following Labour Day, and included an air show where the long and wide runways at Shearwater hosted some of the largest aircraft in the world, including the U.S.
• The closest airport to Shearwater Heliport (YAW) is Halifax Stanfield International Airport (YHZ), which is located only 17 miles (27 kilometers) N of YAW.
• 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.