Nonstop flight route between Lakenheath, England, United Kingdom and Vardø, Norway:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between RAF Lakenheath (LKZ), Lakenheath, England, United Kingdom and Vardø Airport, Svartnes (VAW), Vardø, Norway would travel a Great Circle distance of 1,564 miles (or 2,517 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 relatively short distance between RAF Lakenheath and Vardø Airport, Svartnes, the route shown on this map most likely still appears to be a straight line.

Departure Airport Information:

Arrival Airport Information:

Facts about RAF Lakenheath (LKZ):

• Royal Air Force Lakenheath or RAF Lakenheath, is a Royal Air Force station near the town of Lakenheath in Suffolk, England located 4.7 miles north-east of Mildenhall, Suffolk and 8.3 miles west of Thetford, Norfolk.
• 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 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.
• On 1 May 1951, Lakenheath was transferred from USAFE to SAC, and placed under the 3909th Air Base Group.
• The reason for the departure of the two bomber squadrons was Lakenheath's selection for upgrading to a Very Heavy Bomber airfield.
• In early 1943, three T-2 hangars were erected on the north side of the airfield for glider storage, 40 Horsa Gliders being dispersed at Lakenheath during that year.
• In 1940, the Air Ministry selected Lakenheath as an alternative for RAF Mildenhall and used it as a decoy airfield.
• A near nuclear accident occurred on 27 July 1956 – when a B-47 bomber crashed into a storage igloo at Lakenheath containing three MK-6 nuclear weapons while on a routine training mission.

Facts about Vardø Airport, Svartnes (VAW):

• Vardø Airport, Svartnes handled 14,664 passengers last year.
• Svartnes was constructed by the Luftwaffe during the German occupation of Norway during World War II.
• Because of Vardø Airport, Svartnes's relatively low elevation of 42 feet, planes can take off or land at Vardø Airport, Svartnes 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 Vardø Airport, Svartnes (VAW) is Chatham Islands (CHT), which is located 10,373 miles (16,694 kilometers) away in Waitangi, Chatham Islands, New Zealand.
• In addition to being known as "Vardø Airport, Svartnes", another name for VAW is "Vardø Lufthavn, Svartnes".
• The first plans for a civilian airport at Svartnes was launched by Varangfly, later renamed Norving, in 1964.
• The closest airport to Vardø Airport, Svartnes (VAW) is Vadsø Airport (VDS), which is located 34 miles (56 kilometers) SW of VAW.