Nonstop flight route between Kansas City, Missouri, United States and Lakenheath, England, United Kingdom:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Kansas City International Airport (MCI), Kansas City, Missouri, United States and RAF Lakenheath (LKZ), Lakenheath, England, United Kingdom would travel a Great Circle distance of 4,333 miles (or 6,973 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 Kansas City 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 Kansas City 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 Kansas City International Airport (MCI):

• The airport was across US 71 from the Red Crown Tourist Court, where outlaws Bonnie and Clyde engaged in a 1933 shootout with law enforcement, which led to the death of Clyde's brother Buck Barrow and the capture of Buck's wife Blanche Barrow.
• The airport property was in an unincorporated area of Platte County until the small town of Platte City, Missouri, annexed the airport during construction.
• The furthest airport from Kansas City International Airport (MCI) is Margaret River Airport (MGV), which is located 10,750 miles (17,301 kilometers) away in Margaret River, Western Australia, Australia.
• Kansas City International Airport handled 10,148,524 passengers last year.
• TWA's vision for the future of flight which had been pioneered by the TWA Flight Center at JFK Airport in New York City proved obsolete almost from the start.
• The closest airport to Kansas City International Airport (MCI) is Sherman Army AirfieldSherman Air Force Base (FLV), which is located only 12 miles (19 kilometers) WNW of MCI.
• Kansas City International Airport (MCI) has 3 runways.
• Along with the cramped site, there were doubts that the downtown site could handle the new Boeing 747.
• In 1954 TWA signed an agreement to move its overhaul base to the airport.
• A similar design can be found at the Berlin-Tegel Airport and the Cologne Bonn Airport, both in Germany.

Facts about RAF Lakenheath (LKZ):

• The increasing tension of the Cold War lead to a re-evaluation of these deployments, and by 1953 SAC bombers began to move its heavy bomb groups further west, behind RAF fighter forces, to RAF Brize Norton, RAF Greenham Common, RAF Upper Heyford and RAF Fairford, while its shorter-range B-47 were sent to East Anglia.
• Aircraft of the 48th FW carry the tail code "LN".
• 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.
• 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.
• 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 1940, the Air Ministry selected Lakenheath as an alternative for RAF Mildenhall and used it as a decoy airfield.