Nonstop flight route between Velikiye Luki, Pskov Oblast, Russia and Wake Island, United States Minor Outlying Islands:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Velikiye Luki Airport (VLU), Velikiye Luki, Pskov Oblast, Russia and Wake Island Airfield (AWK), Wake Island, United States Minor Outlying Islands would travel a Great Circle distance of 6,619 miles (or 10,653 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 Velikiye Luki 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 Velikiye Luki 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 Velikiye Luki Airport (VLU):

• In addition to being known as "Velikiye Luki Airport", another name for VLU is "Аэропорт Великие Луки".
• The closest airport to Velikiye Luki Airport (VLU) is Smolensk South Airport (LNX), which is located 127 miles (204 kilometers) SSE of VLU.
• Because of Velikiye Luki Airport's relatively low elevation of 328 feet, planes can take off or land at Velikiye Luki 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.
• Velikiye Luki Airport (VLU) currently has only 1 runway.
• The furthest airport from Velikiye Luki Airport (VLU) is Chatham Islands (CHT), which is located 10,971 miles (17,657 kilometers) away in Waitangi, Chatham Islands, New Zealand.

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.
• 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.
• 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.
• Another airline that operated into Wake Island was Philippine Airlines with Douglas DC-8 jetliners on a daily westbound service from San Francisco and Honolulu to Manila during the early 1970s.