Nonstop flight route between Lakenheath, England, United Kingdom and Chicago, Illinois, United States:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between RAF Lakenheath (LKZ), Lakenheath, England, United Kingdom and Chicago Midway International Airport (MDW), Chicago, Illinois, United States would travel a Great Circle distance of 3,953 miles (or 6,362 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 Chicago Midway International 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 Chicago Midway International 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):

• 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.
• 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.
• In conjunction with this transfer, control of RAF Lakenheath was transferred from Strategic Air Command back to USAFE.
• By 1950, Lakenheath was one of three main operating bases for the U.S.
• The closest airport to RAF Lakenheath (LKZ) is RAF Mildenhall (MHZ), which is located only 4 miles (7 kilometers) SW of LKZ.
• Aircraft of the 48th FW carry the tail code "LN".

Facts about Chicago Midway International Airport (MDW):

• More construction was funded in part by $1 million from the Works Progress Administration.
• Because of Chicago Midway International Airport's relatively low elevation of 620 feet, planes can take off or land at Chicago Midway 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 Chicago Midway International Airport (MDW) is Margaret River Airport (MGV), which is located 11,083 miles (17,836 kilometers) away in Margaret River, Western Australia, Australia.
• Chicago has considered privatizing the airport, but the deals fell through in 2009 and 2013.
• Chicago Midway International Airport (MDW) has 5 runways.
• The closest airport to Chicago Midway International Airport (MDW) is Chicago O'Hare International Airport (ORD), which is located only 15 miles (25 kilometers) NNW of MDW.
• In June 2004, Mayor Daley and airline officials celebrated the completion of the Terminal Development Program.
• In September 2013, Mayor Rahm Emanuel terminated negotiations to privatize the airport, noting that the process was no longer competitive after one of the two finalists had backed out.