Nonstop flight route between Shearwater, Nova Scotia, Canada and El Aaiún (Laayoune), Morocco:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Shearwater Heliport (YAW), Shearwater, Nova Scotia, Canada and Hassan I Airport El Aaiún Airport (EUN), El Aaiún (Laayoune), Morocco would travel a Great Circle distance of 3,006 miles (or 4,838 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 Hassan I Airport El Aaiún 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 Hassan I Airport El Aaiún 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):

• 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.
• 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 Shearwater Heliport is the location of the headquarters of 12 Wing, whose sole purpose is to support and operate shipborne helicopters for the Royal Canadian Navy.
• 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.
• 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.
• 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.
• 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 Hassan I Airport El Aaiún Airport (EUN):

• Because of Hassan I Airport El Aaiún Airport's relatively low elevation of 207 feet, planes can take off or land at Hassan I Airport El Aaiún 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 Hassan I Airport El Aaiún Airport (EUN) is Norfolk Island Airport (NLK), which is nearly antipodal to Hassan I Airport El Aaiún Airport (meaning Hassan I Airport El Aaiún Airport is almost on the exact opposite side of the Earth from Norfolk Island Airport), and is located 12,288 miles (19,776 kilometers) away in Norfolk Island, Australia.
• In addition to being known as "Hassan I Airport El Aaiún Airport", other names for EUN include "Aeropuerto de El Aaiún" and "GMML/GSAI".
• The closest airport to Hassan I Airport El Aaiún Airport (EUN) is Fuerteventura Airport (FUE), which is located 98 miles (158 kilometers) NNW of EUN.
• Hassan I Airport El Aaiún Airport (EUN) has 2 runways.
• Hassan I Airport El Aaiún Airport handled 108,057 passengers last year.