Nonstop flight route between Kaitaia, New Zealand and Lakenheath, England, United Kingdom:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Kaitaia Airport (KAT), Kaitaia, New Zealand and RAF Lakenheath (LKZ), Lakenheath, England, United Kingdom would travel a Great Circle distance of 11,187 miles (or 18,003 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 Kaitaia 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 Kaitaia 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 Kaitaia Airport (KAT):

• The runway has a Pavement Classification Number of 15 which allows aircraft of up to 22,500 kg.
• Kaitaia Airport (KAT) has 2 runways.
• Because of Kaitaia Airport's relatively low elevation of 270 feet, planes can take off or land at Kaitaia 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.
• 852 km to the North West of Kaitaia is Norfolk Island Airport from which it is 754 km to Noumea in New Caledonia, or 900 km to Lord Howe Island which can be used as a stepping stone to the Australian mainland.
• The closest airport to Kaitaia Airport (KAT) is Kerikeri Airport (KKE), which is located 38 miles (61 kilometers) ESE of KAT.
• The furthest airport from Kaitaia Airport (KAT) is Kenitra Air Base (NNA), which is nearly antipodal to Kaitaia Airport (meaning Kaitaia Airport is almost on the exact opposite side of the Earth from Kenitra Air Base), and is located 12,383 miles (19,929 kilometers) away in Kenitra, Morocco.
• Kaitaia Airport is the most northern airfield in New Zealand that has fuel available.

Facts about RAF Lakenheath (LKZ):

• On 1 May 1951, Lakenheath was transferred from USAFE to SAC, and placed under the 3909th Air Base Group.
• In 1940, the Air Ministry selected Lakenheath as an alternative for RAF Mildenhall and used it as a decoy airfield.
• 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.
• Although an RAF station, it hosts United States Air Force units and personnel.
• Many SAC Squadrons had aircraft at RAF Lakenheath on a transitotry basis without any recorded deployment to the base.
• 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 closest airport to RAF Lakenheath (LKZ) is RAF Mildenhall (MHZ), which is located only 4 miles (7 kilometers) SW of LKZ.
• RAF Lakenheath, and nearby, RAF Mildenhall, are the two main U.S.