Nonstop flight route between Erenhot, Inner Mongolia, China and Lakenheath, England, United Kingdom:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Erenhot Saiwusu International Airport (ERL), Erenhot, Inner Mongolia, China and RAF Lakenheath (LKZ), Lakenheath, England, United Kingdom would travel a Great Circle distance of 4,667 miles (or 7,510 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 Erenhot Saiwusu 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 Erenhot Saiwusu 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 Erenhot Saiwusu International Airport (ERL):

• The furthest airport from Erenhot Saiwusu International Airport (ERL) is Almirante Marcos A. Zar Airport (REL), which is nearly antipodal to Erenhot Saiwusu International Airport (meaning Erenhot Saiwusu International Airport is almost on the exact opposite side of the Earth from Almirante Marcos A. Zar Airport), and is located 12,304 miles (19,802 kilometers) away in Trelew, Chubut, Argentina.
• In addition to being known as "Erenhot Saiwusu International Airport", other names for ERL include "二连浩特赛乌苏国际机场" and "Èrliánhàotè Sàiwūsū Guójì Jīchǎng".
• The closest airport to Erenhot Saiwusu International Airport (ERL) is Hohhot Baita International Airport (HET), which is located 178 miles (287 kilometers) S of ERL.

Facts about RAF Lakenheath (LKZ):

• The reason for the departure of the two bomber squadrons was Lakenheath's selection for upgrading to a Very Heavy Bomber airfield.
• In 1940, the Air Ministry selected Lakenheath as an alternative for RAF Mildenhall and used it as a decoy airfield.
• On 1 May 1951, Lakenheath was transferred from USAFE to SAC, and placed under the 3909th Air Base Group.
• 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.
• 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.
• In April 1947, RAF Bomber Command returned to Lakenheath and had the runways repaired, resurfaced, and readied for operations by May 1948.
• The closest airport to RAF Lakenheath (LKZ) is RAF Mildenhall (MHZ), which is located only 4 miles (7 kilometers) SW of LKZ.
• Meanwhile on 30 April 1956, two Lockheed U-2s were airlifted to RAF Lakenheath to form CIA Detachment A.