Nonstop flight route between Emerald, Queensland, Australia and Lakenheath, England, United Kingdom:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Emerald Airport (EMD), Emerald, Queensland, Australia and RAF Lakenheath (LKZ), Lakenheath, England, United Kingdom would travel a Great Circle distance of 9,818 miles (or 15,800 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 Emerald 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 Emerald 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 Emerald Airport (EMD):

• Emerald Airport recently spent $7.7 million extending the terminal and refurbishing the old terminal.
• Emerald Airport is currently serviced by QantasLink Dash 8 Q400's flying an average of five flights per day on weekdays, and three flights per day on weekends.
• On 4 October 2011, Virgin Australia and Skywest Airlines announced that, from 16 January 2012, double-daily 68-seat ATR-72 services would be operating on weekdays between Emerald and Brisbane to "bring choice and competitive fares for travel to and from this important mining hub".
• Emerald Airport (EMD) has 2 runways.
• The closest airport to Emerald Airport (EMD) is Blackwater Airport (BLT), which is located 40 miles (64 kilometers) E of EMD.
• Because of Emerald Airport's relatively low elevation of 624 feet, planes can take off or land at Emerald 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.
• The furthest airport from Emerald Airport (EMD) is Agostinho Neto Airport (NTO), which is located 11,818 miles (19,019 kilometers) away in Ponta do Sol, Santo Antão, Cape Verde.

Facts about RAF Lakenheath (LKZ):

• In 1941, hard runways were put down with the main runway, 04/22, being 2,000 yards, and the subsidiaries, 12/30 at 1,300 yards and 16/34 at 1,400 yards.
• 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.
• The work entailed removal of the existing runways and laying new ones comprising 12 inches of high-grade concrete.
• By 1950, Lakenheath was one of three main operating bases for the U.S.
• Control of RAF Lakenheath was allocated to Third Air Force at South Ruislip Air Station, which had command of SAC B-29 operations in England.
• The closest airport to RAF Lakenheath (LKZ) is RAF Mildenhall (MHZ), which is located only 4 miles (7 kilometers) SW of LKZ.
• 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.