Nonstop flight route between Kuwait City, Kuwait and Lakenheath, England, United Kingdom:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Kuwait International Airport (KWI), Kuwait City, Kuwait and RAF Lakenheath (LKZ), Lakenheath, England, United Kingdom would travel a Great Circle distance of 2,879 miles (or 4,633 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 Kuwait 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 Kuwait 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 Kuwait International Airport (KWI):

• Because of Kuwait International Airport's relatively low elevation of 206 feet, planes can take off or land at Kuwait 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 furthest airport from Kuwait International Airport (KWI) is Totegegie Airport (GMR), which is located 11,977 miles (19,275 kilometers) away in Mangareva, Gambier Islands, French Polynesia.
• In 2011 the Department of Civil Aviation announced the intention of extending Kuwait International Airport so it can handle more passengers and more aircraft.
• The closest airport to Kuwait International Airport (KWI) is Abadan International Airport (ABD), which is located 80 miles (129 kilometers) N of KWI.
• The main airport structure was executed and completed by Al Hani Construction joint venture with Ballast Nedam, Holland.
• The airport resides at an elevation of 206 feet above mean sea level.
• Kuwait International Airport handled 937,661 passengers last year.
• In addition to being known as "Kuwait International Airport", another name for KWI is "مطار الكويت الدولي".
• Kuwait International Airport (KWI) has 2 runways.

Facts about RAF Lakenheath (LKZ):

• In April 1947, RAF Bomber Command returned to Lakenheath and had the runways repaired, resurfaced, and readied for operations by May 1948.
• In 1940, the Air Ministry selected Lakenheath as an alternative for RAF Mildenhall and used it as a decoy airfield.
• 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.
• 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 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.
• Control of RAF Lakenheath was allocated to Third Air Force at South Ruislip Air Station, which had command of SAC B-29 operations in England.
• The closest airport to RAF Lakenheath (LKZ) is RAF Mildenhall (MHZ), which is located only 4 miles (7 kilometers) SW of LKZ.
• Cold War tensions with the Soviet Union in Europe began as early as 1946.