Nonstop flight route between Minna, Nigeria and Lakenheath, England, United Kingdom:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Minna Airport (MXJ), Minna, Nigeria and RAF Lakenheath (LKZ), Lakenheath, England, United Kingdom would travel a Great Circle distance of 2,973 miles (or 4,784 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 Minna 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 Minna 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 Minna Airport (MXJ):

• Minna Airport (MXJ) currently has only 1 runway.
• The closest airport to Minna Airport (MXJ) is Nnamdi Azikiwe International Airport (ABV), which is located 70 miles (113 kilometers) SE of MXJ.
• Because of Minna Airport's relatively low elevation of 834 feet, planes can take off or land at Minna 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 Minna Airport (MXJ) is Asau Airport (AAU), which is nearly antipodal to Minna Airport (meaning Minna Airport is almost on the exact opposite side of the Earth from Asau Airport), and is located 12,164 miles (19,575 kilometers) away in Asau, Samoa.

Facts about RAF Lakenheath (LKZ):

• 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 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 April 1947, RAF Bomber Command returned to Lakenheath and had the runways repaired, resurfaced, and readied for operations by May 1948.
• 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.
• The closest airport to RAF Lakenheath (LKZ) is RAF Mildenhall (MHZ), which is located only 4 miles (7 kilometers) SW of 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.
• In 1940, the Air Ministry selected Lakenheath as an alternative for RAF Mildenhall and used it as a decoy airfield.