Nonstop flight route between Lakenheath, England, United Kingdom and Kotlik, Alaska, United States:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between RAF Lakenheath (LKZ), Lakenheath, England, United Kingdom and Kotlik Airport (KOT), Kotlik, Alaska, United States would travel a Great Circle distance of 4,414 miles (or 7,104 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 RAF Lakenheath and Kotlik 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 RAF Lakenheath and Kotlik 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 RAF Lakenheath (LKZ):

• In early 1943, three T-2 hangars were erected on the north side of the airfield for glider storage, 40 Horsa Gliders being dispersed at Lakenheath during that year.
• By 1950, Lakenheath was one of three main operating bases for the U.S.
• The work entailed removal of the existing runways and laying new ones comprising 12 inches of high-grade concrete.
• A near nuclear accident occurred on 27 July 1956 – when a B-47 bomber crashed into a storage igloo at Lakenheath containing three MK-6 nuclear weapons while on a routine training mission.
• On 1 May 1951, Lakenheath was transferred from USAFE to SAC, and placed under the 3909th Air Base Group.
• The closest airport to RAF Lakenheath (LKZ) is RAF Mildenhall (MHZ), which is located only 4 miles (7 kilometers) SW of LKZ.
• In 1940, the Air Ministry selected Lakenheath as an alternative for RAF Mildenhall and used it as a decoy airfield.
• The furthest airport from RAF Lakenheath (LKZ) is Chatham Islands (CHT), which is located 11,827 miles (19,034 kilometers) away in Waitangi, Chatham Islands, New Zealand.

Facts about Kotlik Airport (KOT):

• The closest airport to Kotlik Airport (KOT) is Emmonak Airport (EMK), which is located 35 miles (56 kilometers) WSW of KOT.
• The furthest airport from Kotlik Airport (KOT) is Cape Town International Airport (CPT), which is located 10,427 miles (16,780 kilometers) away in Cape Town, South Africa.
• Because of Kotlik Airport's relatively low elevation of 15 feet, planes can take off or land at Kotlik 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.
• In addition to being known as "Kotlik Airport", another name for KOT is "2A9".
• Kotlik Airport (KOT) currently has only 1 runway.