Nonstop flight route between David, Chiriquí Province, Panama and Lakenheath, England, United Kingdom:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Enrique Malek International Airport (DAV), David, Chiriquí Province, Panama and RAF Lakenheath (LKZ), Lakenheath, England, United Kingdom would travel a Great Circle distance of 5,465 miles (or 8,794 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 Enrique Malek 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 Enrique Malek 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:

Arrival Airport Information:

Facts about Enrique Malek International Airport (DAV):

• In addition to being known as "Enrique Malek International Airport", another name for DAV is "Aeropuerto Internacional Enrique Malek".
• The closest airport to Enrique Malek International Airport (DAV) is Coto 47 Airport (OTR), which is located 39 miles (63 kilometers) WNW of DAV.
• On 13 July 1943, there was an accident at this airfield that claimed the life of 12 airmen when their B-17 Flying Fortress stalled during approach and crashed in the runway.
• The furthest airport from Enrique Malek International Airport (DAV) is Cocos (Keeling) Island Airport (CCK), which is nearly antipodal to Enrique Malek International Airport (meaning Enrique Malek International Airport is almost on the exact opposite side of the Earth from Cocos (Keeling) Island Airport), and is located 12,170 miles (19,585 kilometers) away in Cocos Islands, Australia.
• Enrique Malek International Airport (DAV) currently has only 1 runway.
• On 9 January 1970, an attempt was made to hijack a Douglas C-47 of RAPSA.
• Because of Enrique Malek International Airport's relatively low elevation of 89 feet, planes can take off or land at Enrique Malek 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.
• During heavy travel times, the airport registers 900 operations monthly, serving approximately 20,000 passengers from Mexico, the United States, Canada and Central America.

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.
• In addition to supporting three combat-ready squadrons of F-15E Strike Eagle and F-15C Eagle fighter aircraft, the Liberty Wing houses the 56th Rescue Squadron's HH-60G Combat Search and Rescue helicopters.
• 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.
• 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.
• On 1 May 1951, Lakenheath was transferred from USAFE to SAC, and placed under the 3909th Air Base Group.