Nonstop flight route between Laredo, Texas, United States and Lakenheath, England, United Kingdom:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Laredo International Airport (LRD), Laredo, Texas, United States and RAF Lakenheath (LKZ), Lakenheath, England, United Kingdom would travel a Great Circle distance of 5,127 miles (or 8,250 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 Laredo International 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 Laredo International 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 Laredo International Airport (LRD):

• Because of Laredo International Airport's relatively low elevation of 508 feet, planes can take off or land at Laredo 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 Laredo International Airport was used by the United States Army Air Forces during World War II as Laredo Army Airfield, and by the United States Air Force as Laredo Air Force Base during the Cold War as a pilot training base with T-33 Shooting Star and later T-37 Tweet and T-38 Talon aircraft.
• The furthest airport from Laredo International Airport (LRD) is Sir Gaëtan Duval Airport (RRG), which is located 11,226 miles (18,066 kilometers) away in Rodrigues Island, Mauritius.
• Laredo International Airport is a city-owned public-use airport located three nautical miles northeast of the central business district of Laredo, a city in Webb County, Texas, United States.
• The closest airport to Laredo International Airport (LRD) is Quetzalcóatl International Airport (NLD), which is located only 10 miles (15 kilometers) SW of LRD.
• Laredo International Airport (LRD) has 3 runways.
• Laredo International Airport covers an area of 1,796 acres at an elevation of 508 feet above mean sea level.

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.
• Cold War tensions with the Soviet Union in Europe began as early as 1946.
• 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.
• Many SAC Squadrons had aircraft at RAF Lakenheath on a transitotry basis without any recorded deployment to the base.
• Lakenheath Airfield was used by RAF flying units on detachment late in 1941.
• The closest airport to RAF Lakenheath (LKZ) is RAF Mildenhall (MHZ), which is located only 4 miles (7 kilometers) SW of LKZ.
• 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.