Nonstop flight route between Lexington, Kentucky, United States and Lakenheath, England, United Kingdom:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Blue Grass Airport (LEX), Lexington, Kentucky, United States and RAF Lakenheath (LKZ), Lakenheath, England, United Kingdom would travel a Great Circle distance of 4,013 miles (or 6,458 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 Blue Grass 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 Blue Grass 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 Blue Grass Airport (LEX):

• The furthest airport from Blue Grass Airport (LEX) is Margaret River Airport (MGV), which is located 11,302 miles (18,188 kilometers) away in Margaret River, Western Australia, Australia.
• The closest airport to Blue Grass Airport (LEX) is Capital City Airport (FFT), which is located only 19 miles (31 kilometers) WNW of LEX.
• Blue Grass Airport handled 1,104,354 passengers last year.
• Blue Grass Airport (LEX) has 2 runways.
• Because of Blue Grass Airport's relatively low elevation of 979 feet, planes can take off or land at Blue Grass 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 RAF Lakenheath (LKZ):

• 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.
• The 48th Fighter Wing at RAF Lakenheath is the Statue of Liberty Wing, the only USAF wing with both a number and a name.
• The work entailed removal of the existing runways and laying new ones comprising 12 inches of high-grade concrete.
• Cold War tensions with the Soviet Union in Europe began as early as 1946.
• Although an RAF station, it hosts United States Air Force units and personnel.
• In 1940, the Air Ministry selected Lakenheath as an alternative for RAF Mildenhall and used it as a decoy airfield.
• In April 1947, RAF Bomber Command returned to Lakenheath and had the runways repaired, resurfaced, and readied for operations by May 1948.
• Meanwhile on 30 April 1956, two Lockheed U-2s were airlifted to RAF Lakenheath to form CIA Detachment A.
• 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.