Nonstop flight route between Hilo, Hawaii, United States and Lakenheath, England, United Kingdom:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Hilo International Airport (ITO), Hilo, Hawaii, United States and RAF Lakenheath (LKZ), Lakenheath, England, United Kingdom would travel a Great Circle distance of 7,242 miles (or 11,654 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 Hilo 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 Hilo 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 Hilo International Airport (ITO):

• In May 1989, the state Legislature renamed General Lyman Field to "Hilo International Airport".
• Although designed as the second gateway into and out of Hawaiʻi, for many years Hilo had been Hawaiʻi's only major airport lacking non-stop flights to North America.
• Hilo International Airport (ITO) has 2 runways.
• Work began on an interim overseas terminal at General Lyman Field in November 1968.
• Hilo International Airport handled 1,279,342 passengers last year.
• Other proposed noise mitigation measures include a barrier on the north side of the airport and the extension of Runway 8-26 by 1,850 feet to the east and displacing the western end of the runway by the same amount, thereby maintaining the runway's length.
• In 1927 the Territory of Hawaii legislature passed Act 257, authorizing the expenditure of $25,000 for the construction of a landing strip in Hilo.
• Because of Hilo International Airport's relatively low elevation of 38 feet, planes can take off or land at Hilo 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.
• The closest airport to Hilo International Airport (ITO) is Pōhakuloa Training Area (BSF), which is located 44 miles (71 kilometers) W of ITO.
• The furthest airport from Hilo International Airport (ITO) is Maun Airport (MUB), which is nearly antipodal to Hilo International Airport (meaning Hilo International Airport is almost on the exact opposite side of the Earth from Maun Airport), and is located 12,336 miles (19,854 kilometers) away in Maun, Botswana.

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.
• The first use of Lakenheath Warren as a Royal Flying Corps airfield was in World War I, when the area was made into a bombing and ground-attack range for aircraft flying from elsewhere in the area.
• 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.
• Meanwhile on 30 April 1956, two Lockheed U-2s were airlifted to RAF Lakenheath to form CIA Detachment A.
• On 27 November 1948, operational control of RAF Lakenheath was transferred from the Royal Air Force to USAFE.
• 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 reason for the departure of the two bomber squadrons was Lakenheath's selection for upgrading to a Very Heavy Bomber airfield.
• The closest airport to RAF Lakenheath (LKZ) is RAF Mildenhall (MHZ), which is located only 4 miles (7 kilometers) SW of LKZ.