Nonstop flight route between Christmas Island, Kiribati and Lakenheath, England, United Kingdom:
Departure Airport:
Arrival Airport:
Distance from CXI to LKZ:
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- About this route
- CXI Airport Information
- LKZ Airport Information
- Facts about CXI
- Facts about LKZ
- Map of Nearest Airports to CXI
- List of Nearest Airports to CXI
- Map of Furthest Airports from CXI
- List of Furthest Airports from CXI
- Map of Nearest Airports to LKZ
- List of Nearest Airports to LKZ
- Map of Furthest Airports from LKZ
- List of Furthest Airports from LKZ
About this route:
A direct, nonstop flight between Cassidy International Airport (CXI), Christmas Island, Kiribati and RAF Lakenheath (LKZ), Lakenheath, England, United Kingdom would travel a Great Circle distance of 8,465 miles (or 13,622 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 Cassidy International Airport and RAF Lakenheath, 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 Cassidy International Airport and RAF Lakenheath. You'll see that it will travel the same route of the red line on this map!
Departure Airport Information:
| IATA / ICAO Codes: | CXI / PLCH |
| Airport Name: | Cassidy International Airport |
| Location: | Christmas Island, Kiribati |
| GPS Coordinates: | 1°59'9"N by 157°20'58"W |
| Area Served: | Kiritimati |
| Operator/Owner: | Government |
| Airport Type: | Public |
| Elevation: | 5 feet (2 meters) |
| # of Runways: | 1 |
| View all routes: | Routes from CXI |
| More Information: | CXI Maps & Info |
Arrival Airport Information:
| IATA / ICAO Codes: | LKZ / EGUL |
| Airport Name: | RAF Lakenheath |
| Location: | Lakenheath, England, United Kingdom |
| GPS Coordinates: | 52°24'29"N by 0°33'24"E |
| Operator/Owner: | Ministry of Defence |
| View all routes: | Routes from LKZ |
| More Information: | LKZ Maps & Info |
Facts about Cassidy International Airport (CXI):
- The furthest airport from Cassidy International Airport (CXI) is Ikela Airport (IKL), which is nearly antipodal to Cassidy International Airport (meaning Cassidy International Airport is almost on the exact opposite side of the Earth from Ikela Airport), and is located 12,367 miles (19,903 kilometers) away in Ikela, Democratic Republic of the Congo.
- Because of Cassidy International Airport's relatively low elevation of 5 feet, planes can take off or land at Cassidy International 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.
- Cassidy International Airport (CXI) currently has only 1 runway.
- The closest airport to Cassidy International Airport (CXI) is Manihiki Island Airport (MHX), which is located 891 miles (1,433 kilometers) SSW of CXI.
- During World War II, the United States Army Air Forces Air Transport Command used the airport as a refuelling stop on its Pacific transport route from Hawaii to Kanton Island for flights to Australia and New Zealand as well as a staging point for attacks on the Gilbert Islands, then occupied by Japan.
Facts about RAF Lakenheath (LKZ):
- The closest airport to RAF Lakenheath (LKZ) is RAF Mildenhall (MHZ), which is located only 4 miles (7 kilometers) SW of LKZ.
- The increasing tension of the Cold War lead to a re-evaluation of these deployments, and by 1953 SAC bombers began to move its heavy bomb groups further west, behind RAF fighter forces, to RAF Brize Norton, RAF Greenham Common, RAF Upper Heyford and RAF Fairford, while its shorter-range B-47 were sent to East Anglia.
- In 1940, the Air Ministry selected Lakenheath as an alternative for RAF Mildenhall and used it as a decoy airfield.
- The 48th Fighter Wing at RAF Lakenheath is the Statue of Liberty Wing, the only USAF wing with both a number and a name.
- 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.
- Cold War tensions with the Soviet Union in Europe began as early as 1946.
