Nonstop flight route between Lamu, Kenya and Diomede, Alaska, United States:
Departure Airport:

Arrival Airport:

Distance from LAU to DIO:
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- About this route
- LAU Airport Information
- DIO Airport Information
- Facts about LAU
- Facts about DIO
- Map of Nearest Airports to LAU
- List of Nearest Airports to LAU
- Map of Furthest Airports from LAU
- List of Furthest Airports from LAU
- Map of Nearest Airports to DIO
- List of Nearest Airports to DIO
- Map of Furthest Airports from DIO
- List of Furthest Airports from DIO
About this route:
A direct, nonstop flight between Manda Airport (LAU), Lamu, Kenya and Diomede Heliport (FAA: DM2) (DIO), Diomede, Alaska, United States would travel a Great Circle distance of 7,811 miles (or 12,571 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 Manda Airport and Diomede Heliport (FAA: DM2), 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 Manda Airport and Diomede Heliport (FAA: DM2). You'll see that it will travel the same route of the red line on this map!
Departure Airport Information:
IATA / ICAO Codes: | LAU / HKLU |
Airport Name: | Manda Airport |
Location: | Lamu, Kenya |
GPS Coordinates: | 2°14'45"S by 40°54'35"E |
Area Served: | Lamu |
Operator/Owner: | Government of Kenya |
Airport Type: | Public, Civilian |
Elevation: | 20 feet (6 meters) |
# of Runways: | 2 |
View all routes: | Routes from LAU |
More Information: | LAU Maps & Info |
Arrival Airport Information:
IATA / ICAO Codes: | DIO / |
Airport Name: | Diomede Heliport (FAA: DM2) |
Location: | Diomede, Alaska, United States |
GPS Coordinates: | 65°45'29"N by 168°57'6"W |
Elevation: | 0 feet (0 meters) |
View all routes: | Routes from DIO |
More Information: | DIO Maps & Info |
Facts about Manda Airport (LAU):
- The closest airport to Manda Airport (LAU) is Kiwayu Airport (KWY), which is located 33 miles (53 kilometers) NE of LAU.
- Manda Airport is located in on Manda Island, Lamu District, Coast Province, in the Lamu Archipelago on the western shores of the Indian Ocean, on the Kenya coast.
- The furthest airport from Manda Airport (LAU) is Atuona Airport (AUQ), which is located 11,607 miles (18,679 kilometers) away in Atuona, Marquesas Islands, French Polynesia.
- Manda Airport (LAU) has 2 runways.
- On 14 October 2003 at about 9.00 am, local time, a Cessna 208 Caravan I owned ans operated by Airkenya Express, with one pilot and no passengers, took off from Wilson Airport in Nairobi, headed for Manda Airport in Lamu, approximately 450 kilometres, by air, to the southeast.
- Because of Manda Airport's relatively low elevation of 20 feet, planes can take off or land at Manda 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.
Facts about Diomede Heliport (FAA: DM2) (DIO):
- After the Cold War ended in the early 1990s, an interest of reuniting with families across the Bering Strait revived.
- Because of Diomede Heliport (FAA: DM2)'s relatively low elevation of 0 feet, planes can take off or land at Diomede Heliport (FAA: DM2) 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 island's only school, and likely the most isolated school in the United States, the Diomede School has grades from Pre-K through 12 and approximately 40 students and 5 teachers.
- The first non-native to reach the Diomede Islands was a Russian explorer Semyon Dezhnev in 1648.
- During the centuries, the village on Little Diomede was gradually inhabited as a permanent settlement and the entire island was incorporated into the city of Diomede in 1970.
- Today there are about 30 buildings on the island, including the residential housing that was mainly built in the 1970s and 1980s.
- At the beginning of the Cold War in the late 1940s Big Diomede became a Russian military base and all its native residents were removed to mainland Russia.
- The furthest airport from Diomede Heliport (FAA: DM2) (DIO) is Teniente Rodolfo Marsh Airport (TNM), which is located 10,411 miles (16,755 kilometers) away in Villa Las Estrellas, Antarctica.
- The closest airport to Diomede Heliport (FAA: DM2) (DIO) is Wales Airport (WAA), which is located 26 miles (42 kilometers) ESE of DIO.