Nonstop flight route between Seoul, South Korea and Lakenheath, England, United Kingdom:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Gimpo International Airport (SEL), Seoul, South Korea and RAF Lakenheath (LKZ), Lakenheath, England, United Kingdom would travel a Great Circle distance of 5,433 miles (or 8,743 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 Gimpo 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 Gimpo 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 Gimpo International Airport (SEL):

• For many years, the airport was served by the Gimpo Line, a railway line that no longer exists.
• Following the Chinese Third Phase Campaign and the defeat of UN Forces at the 38th parallel, on 5 January 1951 General Ridgway ordered the evacuation of Seoul and the withdrawal of UN forces to a new defensive line along the 37th parallel.
• The closest airport to Gimpo International Airport (SEL) is Gimpo International Airport (GMP), which is located only 0 mile (0 kilometer) N of SEL.
• Gimpo International Airport handled 19,424,032 passengers last year.
• UN Forces resumed the offensive again in late January 1951 and launched Operation Thunderbolt on 25 January with the aim of pushing Chinese and North Korean forces back north of the Han River.
• The airfield was originally constructed in 1939–1942 during the Japanese Imperial period.
• Gimpo International Airport (SEL) has 2 runways.
• Captured KPAF Ilyushin Il-10, 21 September 1950
• The furthest airport from Gimpo International Airport (SEL) is Villa Gesell Airport (VLG), which is nearly antipodal to Gimpo International Airport (meaning Gimpo International Airport is almost on the exact opposite side of the Earth from Villa Gesell Airport), and is located 12,226 miles (19,676 kilometers) away in Villa Gesell, Buenos Aires, Argentina.
• In addition to being known as "Gimpo International Airport", other names for SEL include "김포국제공항 金浦國際空港", "Gimpo Gukje Gonghang Kimp'o Kukche Konghang", "GMP" and "RKSS".
• Because of Gimpo International Airport's relatively low elevation of 58 feet, planes can take off or land at Gimpo 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.

Facts about RAF Lakenheath (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.
• In 1940, the Air Ministry selected Lakenheath as an alternative for RAF Mildenhall and used it as a decoy airfield.
• 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.
• The closest airport to RAF Lakenheath (LKZ) is RAF Mildenhall (MHZ), which is located only 4 miles (7 kilometers) SW of LKZ.
• The 48th Fighter Wing at RAF Lakenheath is the Statue of Liberty Wing, the only USAF wing with both a number and a name.
• The work entailed removal of the existing runways and laying new ones comprising 12 inches of high-grade concrete.