Nonstop flight route between Valdez, Alaska, United States and Lakenheath, England, United Kingdom:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Valdez Airport (VDZ), Valdez, Alaska, United States and RAF Lakenheath (LKZ), Lakenheath, England, United Kingdom would travel a Great Circle distance of 4,382 miles (or 7,052 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 Valdez 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 Valdez 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 Valdez Airport (VDZ):

• The furthest airport from Valdez Airport (VDZ) is Port Elizabeth International Airport (PLZ), which is located 10,526 miles (16,940 kilometers) away in Port Elizabeth, South Africa.
• In addition to being known as "Valdez Airport", another name for VDZ is "Pioneer Field".
• Because of Valdez Airport's relatively low elevation of 121 feet, planes can take off or land at Valdez 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 closest airport to Valdez Airport (VDZ) is Tatitlek Airport (TEK), which is located 23 miles (38 kilometers) SW of VDZ.
• Valdez Airport (VDZ) currently has only 1 runway.
• Historically, the airport had scheduled passenger jet service provided by Alaska Airlines during the mid 1970s.

Facts about RAF Lakenheath (LKZ):

• Taking part in more than 350 operations, more than half mine-laying, 149 Squadron had one of the lowest percentage loss rates of all Stirling squadrons.
• The 48th Fighter Wing at RAF Lakenheath is the Statue of Liberty Wing, the only USAF wing with both a number and a name.
• Cold War tensions with the Soviet Union in Europe began as early as 1946.
• 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 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.