Nonstop flight route between Shearwater, Nova Scotia, Canada and Al-Baha, Saudi Arabia:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Shearwater Heliport (YAW), Shearwater, Nova Scotia, Canada and Al-Baha Domestic Airport (ABT), Al-Baha, Saudi Arabia would travel a Great Circle distance of 5,943 miles (or 9,565 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 Shearwater Heliport and Al-Baha Domestic 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 Shearwater Heliport and Al-Baha Domestic 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 Shearwater Heliport (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.
• By the 1980s this air show came to be named the "Shearwater International Air Show" and was a popular event for military aviation enthusiasts in Eastern Canada and the Northeastern United States as the location of CFB Shearwater, coupled with the popularity of the Halifax area among military aircrew, resulted in heavy international participation from the RCAF, as well as the USAF, United States Navy, United States Marine Corps, Royal Air Force and numerous other NATO air forces in Europe.
• In addition to being known as "Shearwater Heliport", other names for YAW include "Halifax/Shearwater Heliport", "12 Wing Shearwater" and "CFB Shearwater".
• By 2002 only runway 10/28 remained open.
• The closest airport to Shearwater Heliport (YAW) is Halifax Stanfield International Airport (YHZ), which is located only 17 miles (27 kilometers) N of YAW.
• The air show moved to Yarmouth Airport in 2009 but returned to Shearwater in 2010, the first time since 2003 that an air show was held at the historic airfield.
• 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.
• 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.
• The February 1, 1968 unification of the three service branches into the Canadian Forces saw HMCS Shearwater change its name to Canadian Forces Base Shearwater.
• 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.
• 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.

Facts about Al-Baha Domestic Airport (ABT):

• Al-Baha Domestic Airport (ABT) currently has only 1 runway.
• The closest airport to Al-Baha Domestic Airport (ABT) is Bisha Domestic Airport (BHH), which is located 68 miles (109 kilometers) ESE of ABT.
• Because of Al-Baha Domestic Airport's high elevation of 5,486 feet, planes must typically fly at a faster airspeed in order to takeoff or land at ABT. Combined with a high temperature, this could make ABT a "Hot & High" airport, where the air density is lower than it would otherwise be at sea level.
• The furthest airport from Al-Baha Domestic Airport (ABT) is Tureira Airport (ZTA), which is nearly antipodal to Al-Baha Domestic Airport (meaning Al-Baha Domestic Airport is almost on the exact opposite side of the Earth from Tureira Airport), and is located 12,402 miles (19,958 kilometers) away in Tureia, Tuamotus, French Polynesia.
• In addition to being known as "Al-Baha Domestic Airport", another name for ABT is "مطار الباحة المحلي".