Nonstop flight route between Shearwater, Nova Scotia, Canada and Guantánamo, Cuba:
Departure Airport:

Arrival Airport:

Distance from YAW to GAO:
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- About this route
- YAW Airport Information
- GAO Airport Information
- Facts about YAW
- Facts about GAO
- Map of Nearest Airports to YAW
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- List of Furthest Airports from YAW
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About this route:
A direct, nonstop flight between Shearwater Heliport (YAW), Shearwater, Nova Scotia, Canada and Mariana Grajales Airport (GAO), Guantánamo, Cuba would travel a Great Circle distance of 1,823 miles (or 2,934 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 relatively short distance between Shearwater Heliport and Mariana Grajales Airport, the route shown on this map most likely still appears to be a straight line.
Departure Airport Information:
IATA / ICAO Codes: | YAW / CYAW |
Airport Names: |
|
Location: | Shearwater, Nova Scotia, Canada |
GPS Coordinates: | 44°38'13"N by 63°30'7"W |
Operator/Owner: | Government of Canada |
Airport Type: | Military |
Elevation: | 144 feet (44 meters) |
View all routes: | Routes from YAW |
More Information: | YAW Maps & Info |
Arrival Airport Information:
IATA / ICAO Codes: | GAO / MUGT |
Airport Name: | Mariana Grajales Airport |
Location: | Guantánamo, Cuba |
GPS Coordinates: | 20°5'7"N by 75°9'29"W |
Area Served: | Guantánamo, Cuba |
Airport Type: | Public |
Elevation: | 56 feet (17 meters) |
# of Runways: | 1 |
View all routes: | Routes from GAO |
More Information: | GAO Maps & Info |
Facts about Shearwater Heliport (YAW):
- 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.
- Following a base rationalization program in the mid-1990s, the Canadian Forces closed CFB Shearwater as a separate formation and realigned the property's various facilities into CFB Halifax.
- 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 is the second-oldest military aerodrome in Canada.
- 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.
- As part of the heliport conversion project, the old runway 16/34 was permanently closed and placed outside of a new fence for the Shearwater Heliport, as shown in the Canada Flight Supplement effective 31 July 2008.
- 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.
- In addition to being known as "Shearwater Heliport", other names for YAW include "Halifax/Shearwater Heliport", "12 Wing Shearwater" and "CFB Shearwater".
- During the late 1990s and early 2000s the Shearwater airfield was scaled back significantly as the facility transitioned to a heliport with surplus lands identified and transferred to Canada Lands Company.
Facts about Mariana Grajales Airport (GAO):
- The closest airport to Mariana Grajales Airport (GAO) is United States Naval Station Guantanamo Bay (NBW), which is located only 13 miles (21 kilometers) S of GAO.
- The furthest airport from Mariana Grajales Airport (GAO) is RAAF Learmonth (LEA), which is located 11,823 miles (19,027 kilometers) away in Exmouth, Western Australia, Australia.
- Because of Mariana Grajales Airport's relatively low elevation of 56 feet, planes can take off or land at Mariana Grajales 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.
- Mariana Grajales Airport (GAO) currently has only 1 runway.