Nonstop flight route between Shigatse, Tibet Autonomous Region, China and Lakenheath, England, United Kingdom:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Shigatse Peace Airport (RKZ), Shigatse, Tibet Autonomous Region, China and RAF Lakenheath (LKZ), Lakenheath, England, United Kingdom would travel a Great Circle distance of 4,589 miles (or 7,386 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 Shigatse Peace 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 Shigatse Peace 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 Shigatse Peace Airport (RKZ):

• Shigatse Peace Airport (RKZ) currently has only 1 runway.
• The closest airport to Shigatse Peace Airport (RKZ) is Lhasa Gonggar Airport (LXA), which is located 97 miles (156 kilometers) E of RKZ.
• The furthest airport from Shigatse Peace Airport (RKZ) is Carriel Sur International Airport (CCP), which is located 11,297 miles (18,181 kilometers) away in Concepción, Bío Bío Region, Chile.
• In addition to being known as "Shigatse Peace Airport", other names for RKZ include "日喀则和平机场" and "Rìkāzé Hépíng Jīchǎng".
• Because of Shigatse Peace Airport's high elevation of 12,408 feet, planes must typically fly at a faster airspeed in order to takeoff or land at RKZ. Combined with a high temperature, this could make RKZ a "Hot & High" airport, where the air density is lower than it would otherwise be at sea level.

Facts about RAF Lakenheath (LKZ):

• Although an RAF station, it hosts United States Air Force units and personnel.
• Cold War tensions with the Soviet Union in Europe began as early as 1946.
• The closest airport to RAF Lakenheath (LKZ) is RAF Mildenhall (MHZ), which is located only 4 miles (7 kilometers) SW of 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.
• 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.