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

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Nikolski Air Station (IKO), Nikolski, Alaska, United States and RAF Lakenheath (LKZ), Lakenheath, England, United Kingdom would travel a Great Circle distance of 5,132 miles (or 8,259 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 Nikolski Air Station 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 Nikolski Air Station 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 Nikolski Air Station (IKO):

• The airport was built in 1958 to support Nikolski Air Force Station, a Cold War United States Air Force Distant Early Warning Line radar station on Umnak Island.
• Nikolski Air Station (IKO) currently has only 1 runway.
• Nikolski Air Station resides at elevation of 77 feet above mean sea level.
• Nikolski Air Station is an unattended airport located in Nikolski on Umnak Island in the Aleutians West Census Area of the U.S.
• The closest airport to Nikolski Air Station (IKO) is Unalaska Airport (DUT), which is located 116 miles (186 kilometers) NE of IKO.
• Because of Nikolski Air Station's relatively low elevation of 77 feet, planes can take off or land at Nikolski Air Station 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 Nikolski Air Station (IKO) is Cape Town International Airport (CPT), which is located 11,076 miles (17,824 kilometers) away in Cape Town, South Africa.

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.
• Although an RAF station, it hosts United States Air Force units and personnel.
• In 1940, the Air Ministry selected Lakenheath as an alternative for RAF Mildenhall and used it as a decoy airfield.
• 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 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.
• Royal Air Force Lakenheath or RAF Lakenheath, is a Royal Air Force station near the town of Lakenheath in Suffolk, England located 4.7 miles north-east of Mildenhall, Suffolk and 8.3 miles west of Thetford, Norfolk.
• 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.
• On 27 November 1948, operational control of RAF Lakenheath was transferred from the Royal Air Force to USAFE.
• Cold War tensions with the Soviet Union in Europe began as early as 1946.