Wake Island Airfield
| Wake Island Airfield | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Wake Island in United States Minor Outlying Islands | |||||||
A C-17A Globemaster III of the 15th Wing sits on the flight line at Wake Island Airfield in January 2008. | |||||||
| Site information | |||||||
| Type | Military (United States Air Force) airfield | ||||||
| Owner | Department of Defense | ||||||
| Operator | US Air Force | ||||||
| Controlled by | Pacific Air Forces (PACAF) | ||||||
| Condition | Operational | ||||||
| Location | |||||||
| Coordinates | 19°16′57″N 166°38′12″E / 19.28250°N 166.63667°E | ||||||
| Area | 2,600 acres (1,100 ha) | ||||||
| Site history | |||||||
| Built | 1935 | ||||||
| In use | 1935 – present | ||||||
| Battles/wars | Battle of Wake Island (1941) | ||||||
| Garrison information | |||||||
| Garrison | Pacific Air Forces Regional Support Center | ||||||
| Airfield information | |||||||
| Identifiers | IATA: AWK, ICAO: PWAK, FAA LID: AWK, WMO: 91246 | ||||||
| Elevation | 7 metres (23 ft) AMSL | ||||||
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Wake Island Airfield (IATA: AWK, ICAO: PWAK, FAA LID: AWK) is a military air base located on Wake Island, which is known for the Battle of Wake Island during World War II. It is owned by the U.S. Air Force and operated by the 611th Air Support Group. The runway can be used for emergency landings by commercial jetliners flying transpacific routes and has been used in the past by airlines operating jet, turboprop, and prop aircraft on scheduled flights.
The airport was used until the 1970s as a refueling stopover for airliners crossing the Pacific Ocean, but longer range jet aircraft made this purpose fall out of favor as the airliners could fly direct without stopping. The earlier seaplane base at Wake was used for the first passenger and mail air transits across the Pacific Ocean in the late 1930s.