Nonstop flight route between Ilorin, Nigeria and Lakenheath, England, United Kingdom:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Ilorin International Airport (ILR), Ilorin, Nigeria and RAF Lakenheath (LKZ), Lakenheath, England, United Kingdom would travel a Great Circle distance of 3,046 miles (or 4,902 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 Ilorin 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 Ilorin 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 Ilorin International Airport (ILR):

• The closest airport to Ilorin International Airport (ILR) is Ibadan Airport (IBA), which is located 82 miles (133 kilometers) SSW of ILR.
• The furthest airport from Ilorin International Airport (ILR) is Wallis Island (WLS), which is nearly antipodal to Ilorin International Airport (meaning Ilorin International Airport is almost on the exact opposite side of the Earth from Wallis Island), and is located 12,100 miles (19,473 kilometers) away in Wallis and Futuna Islands.
• Ilorin International Airport (ILR) currently has only 1 runway.

Facts about RAF Lakenheath (LKZ):

• The work entailed removal of the existing runways and laying new ones comprising 12 inches of high-grade concrete.
• 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 closest airport to RAF Lakenheath (LKZ) is RAF Mildenhall (MHZ), which is located only 4 miles (7 kilometers) SW of LKZ.
• In early 1943, three T-2 hangars were erected on the north side of the airfield for glider storage, 40 Horsa Gliders being dispersed at Lakenheath during that year.
• 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 response to the threat by the Soviet Union, by the 1948 Berlin blockade, President Truman decided to realign USAFE into a permanent combat-capable force.
• The 48th Fighter Wing at RAF Lakenheath is the Statue of Liberty Wing, the only USAF wing with both a number and a name.
• On 1 May 1951, Lakenheath was transferred from USAFE to SAC, and placed under the 3909th Air Base Group.
• On 27 November 1948, operational control of RAF Lakenheath was transferred from the Royal Air Force to USAFE.