Nonstop flight route between Lakenheath, England, United Kingdom and Saga, Kyūshū, Japan:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between RAF Lakenheath (LKZ), Lakenheath, England, United Kingdom and Saga Airport (HSG), Saga, Kyūshū, Japan would travel a Great Circle distance of 5,795 miles (or 9,326 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 RAF Lakenheath and Saga Airport, 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 RAF Lakenheath and Saga Airport. 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 RAF Lakenheath (LKZ):

• 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.
• The closest airport to RAF Lakenheath (LKZ) is RAF Mildenhall (MHZ), which is located only 4 miles (7 kilometers) SW of 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.
• Aircraft of the 48th FW carry the tail code "LN".
• The reason for the departure of the two bomber squadrons was Lakenheath's selection for upgrading to a Very Heavy Bomber airfield.
• In conjunction with this transfer, control of RAF Lakenheath was transferred from Strategic Air Command back to USAFE.
• The 48th Fighter Wing at RAF Lakenheath is the Statue of Liberty Wing, the only USAF wing with both a number and a name.
• By 1950, Lakenheath was one of three main operating bases for the U.S.

Facts about Saga Airport (HSG):

• In addition to being known as "Saga Airport", other names for HSG include "佐賀空港" and "Saga-kūkō".
• The closest airport to Saga Airport (HSG) is Nagasaki Airport (NGS), which is located 28 miles (45 kilometers) SW of HSG.
• Because of Saga Airport's relatively low elevation of 6 feet, planes can take off or land at Saga 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 Saga Airport (HSG) is Rio Grande Regional Airport (RIG), which is nearly antipodal to Saga Airport (meaning Saga Airport is almost on the exact opposite side of the Earth from Rio Grande Regional Airport), and is located 12,275 miles (19,755 kilometers) away in Rio Grande, Brazil.
• Saga Airport (HSG) currently has only 1 runway.
• In 2004, the airport's hours were extended to allow service between midnight and 4 a.m., and ANA began overnight cargo service between Saga and Tokyo, initially using passenger aircraft but switching to Boeing 767 freighter aircraft in 2006.
• The airport accommodated 313,200 outbound domestic passengers in 2012.