Nonstop flight route between Shell Mera, Ecuador and Lakenheath, England, United Kingdom:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Rio Amazonas Airport (PTZ), Shell Mera, Ecuador and RAF Lakenheath (LKZ), Lakenheath, England, United Kingdom would travel a Great Circle distance of 5,824 miles (or 9,372 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 Rio Amazonas 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 Rio Amazonas 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 Rio Amazonas Airport (PTZ):

• In addition to being known as "Rio Amazonas Airport", other names for PTZ include "Areopuerto Rio Amazonas" and "SESM".
• The furthest airport from Rio Amazonas Airport (PTZ) is Pinang Kampai Airport (DUM), which is nearly antipodal to Rio Amazonas Airport (meaning Rio Amazonas Airport is almost on the exact opposite side of the Earth from Pinang Kampai Airport), and is located 12,401 miles (19,958 kilometers) away in Dumai, Sumatra, Indonesia.
• Rio Amazonas Airport (PTZ) currently has only 1 runway.
• The closest airport to Rio Amazonas Airport (PTZ) is Chachoan Airport (ATF), which is located 41 miles (66 kilometers) WNW of PTZ.

Facts about RAF Lakenheath (LKZ):

• In April 1947, RAF Bomber Command returned to Lakenheath and had the runways repaired, resurfaced, and readied for operations by May 1948.
• The closest airport to RAF Lakenheath (LKZ) is RAF Mildenhall (MHZ), which is located only 4 miles (7 kilometers) SW of 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.
• 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.
• The first use of Lakenheath Warren as a Royal Flying Corps airfield was in World War I, when the area was made into a bombing and ground-attack range for aircraft flying from elsewhere in the area.
• By the time construction ended the war with Germany was over and RAF Lakenheath was put on a care and maintenance status.
• 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.