Nonstop flight route between Doha, Qatar and Lakenheath, England, United Kingdom:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Al-Udeid Air Base (IUD), Doha, Qatar and RAF Lakenheath (LKZ), Lakenheath, England, United Kingdom would travel a Great Circle distance of 3,227 miles (or 5,193 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 Al-Udeid Air Base 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 Al-Udeid Air Base 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 Al-Udeid Air Base (IUD):

• The closest airport to Al-Udeid Air Base (IUD) is Hamad International Airport (DOH), which is located 21 miles (34 kilometers) ENE of IUD.
• Following joint military operations during Operation Desert Storm in 1991, Qatar and the United States concluded a Defense Cooperation Agreement that has been subsequently expanded.
• Al-Udeid Air Base (IUD) currently has only 1 runway.
• The National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2008 authorized $81.7 million in FY2008 spending to build new Air Force and Special Operations facilities in Qatar.
• The furthest airport from Al-Udeid Air Base (IUD) is Totegegie Airport (GMR), which is nearly antipodal to Al-Udeid Air Base (meaning Al-Udeid Air Base is almost on the exact opposite side of the Earth from Totegegie Airport), and is located 12,021 miles (19,346 kilometers) away in Mangareva, Gambier Islands, French Polynesia.
• Qatar invested over $US1 billion to construct the Al Udeid air base south of Doha during the 1990s.
• Because of Al-Udeid Air Base's relatively low elevation of 130 feet, planes can take off or land at Al-Udeid Air Base 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.
• In addition to being known as "Al-Udeid Air Base", other names for IUD include "قاعدة العديد الجوية" and "XJD".

Facts about RAF Lakenheath (LKZ):

• The 48th Fighter Wing at RAF Lakenheath is the Statue of Liberty Wing, the only USAF wing with both a number and a name.
• By the time construction ended the war with Germany was over and RAF Lakenheath was put on a care and maintenance status.
• 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 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.
• The increasing tension of the Cold War lead to a re-evaluation of these deployments, and by 1953 SAC bombers began to move its heavy bomb groups further west, behind RAF fighter forces, to RAF Brize Norton, RAF Greenham Common, RAF Upper Heyford and RAF Fairford, while its shorter-range B-47 were sent to East Anglia.
• Cold War tensions with the Soviet Union in Europe began as early as 1946.
• The closest airport to RAF Lakenheath (LKZ) is RAF Mildenhall (MHZ), which is located only 4 miles (7 kilometers) SW of LKZ.
• Lakenheath Airfield was used by RAF flying units on detachment late in 1941.