Nonstop flight route between Yakutat, Alaska, United States and Canton Island, Kiribati:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Yakutat Airport (YAK), Yakutat, Alaska, United States and Canton Island Airport (CIS), Canton Island, Kiribati would travel a Great Circle distance of 4,641 miles (or 7,469 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 Yakutat Airport and Canton Island Airport, 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 Yakutat Airport and Canton Island Airport. 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 Yakutat Airport (YAK):

• Yakutat Airport origins date from 1940 when Yakutat Army Airfield was constructed as part of the United States Army's long-range defense program for Alaska.
• The closest airport to Yakutat Airport (YAK) is Icy Bay Airport (ICY), which is located 77 miles (124 kilometers) WNW of YAK.
• Yakutat Airport (YAK) has 2 runways.
• As per Federal Aviation Administration records, the airport had 11,028 passenger boardings in calendar year 2008, 12,158 enplanements in 2009, and 10,035 in 2010.
• Because of Yakutat Airport's relatively low elevation of 33 feet, planes can take off or land at Yakutat 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 Yakutat Airport (YAK) is Port Elizabeth International Airport (PLZ), which is located 10,551 miles (16,979 kilometers) away in Port Elizabeth, South Africa.
• In addition to being known as "Yakutat Airport", another name for YAK is "Yakutat Army Airfield".

Facts about Canton Island Airport (CIS):

• Canton Island Airport (CIS) currently has only 1 runway.
• The closest airport to Canton Island Airport (CIS) is Funafuti International Airport (FUN), which is located 741 miles (1,193 kilometers) WSW of CIS.
• The furthest airport from Canton Island Airport (CIS) is Malabo International Airport (SSG), which is nearly antipodal to Canton Island Airport (meaning Canton Island Airport is almost on the exact opposite side of the Earth from Malabo International Airport), and is located 12,363 miles (19,896 kilometers) away in Malabo, Equatorial Guinea.
• Because of Canton Island Airport's relatively low elevation of 9 feet, planes can take off or land at Canton Island 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.
• Though Kanton Island was never physically invaded by Japanese forces, the airfield was bombarded on 1 November 1943 by the Japanese submarine I-36.
• The Pan American pioneered central air route, Hawaii to the Philippines and Asia by way of stations at Midway, Wake and Guam passed through the Japanese controlled islands with serious concerns about its safety growing in 1941 even as the Army had reinforced the Philippines with a flight of B-17 bombers by way of Midway, Wake and Port Moresby in September.