Nonstop flight route between Kerama Islands, Okinawa, Japan and Lakenheath, England, United Kingdom:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Kerama Airport (KJP), Kerama Islands, Okinawa, Japan and RAF Lakenheath (LKZ), Lakenheath, England, United Kingdom would travel a Great Circle distance of 6,131 miles (or 9,868 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 Kerama 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 Kerama 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 Kerama Airport (KJP):

• In addition to being known as "Kerama Airport", other names for KJP include "慶良間空港" and "Kerama Kūkō".
• Because of Kerama Airport's relatively low elevation of 156 feet, planes can take off or land at Kerama 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 Kerama Airport (KJP) is Naha Airport (OKA), which is located 22 miles (35 kilometers) E of KJP.
• Kerama Airport (KJP) currently has only 1 runway.
• The furthest airport from Kerama Airport (KJP) is Paulo Abdala Airport (FBE), which is nearly antipodal to Kerama Airport (meaning Kerama Airport is almost on the exact opposite side of the Earth from Paulo Abdala Airport), and is located 12,413 miles (19,977 kilometers) away in Francisco Beltrao, Paraná, Brazil.

Facts about RAF Lakenheath (LKZ):

• Meanwhile on 30 April 1956, two Lockheed U-2s were airlifted to RAF Lakenheath to form CIA Detachment A.
• The closest airport to RAF Lakenheath (LKZ) is RAF Mildenhall (MHZ), which is located only 4 miles (7 kilometers) SW of LKZ.
• By 1950, Lakenheath was one of three main operating bases for the U.S.
• 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.
• Cold War tensions with the Soviet Union in Europe began as early as 1946.
• In 1940, the Air Ministry selected Lakenheath as an alternative for RAF Mildenhall and used it as a decoy airfield.
• The reason for the departure of the two bomber squadrons was Lakenheath's selection for upgrading to a Very Heavy Bomber airfield.
• In addition to supporting three combat-ready squadrons of F-15E Strike Eagle and F-15C Eagle fighter aircraft, the Liberty Wing houses the 56th Rescue Squadron's HH-60G Combat Search and Rescue helicopters.