Nonstop flight route between Wellington, New Zealand and Lakenheath, England, United Kingdom:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Wellington International Airport (WLG), Wellington, New Zealand and RAF Lakenheath (LKZ), Lakenheath, England, United Kingdom would travel a Great Circle distance of 11,625 miles (or 18,709 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 Wellington 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 Wellington 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 Wellington International Airport (WLG):

• The main terminal building contains a common check-in area on the first floor and a common baggage claim area on the ground floor.
• The closest airport to Wellington International Airport (WLG) is Kapiti Coast Airport (PPQ), which is located 31 miles (49 kilometers) NNE of WLG.
• Wellington International Airport (WLG) currently has only 1 runway.
• Wellington's original domestic terminal was built as a temporary measure inside a corrugated iron hangar, originally used to assemble de Havilland aircraft.
• A full-length runway extension, to accommodate long-haul aircraft such as the Boeing 747, has been previously investigated, but would require expensive land reclamation into Lyall Bay, and massive breakwater protection from Cook Strait.
• Because of Wellington International Airport's relatively low elevation of 42 feet, planes can take off or land at Wellington 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.
• Rongotai Airport started with a grass runway in November 1929.
• The length of the runway has limited the size of aircraft that can use the airport on a commercial basis, and overseas destinations are limited to the east coast of Australia and the South Pacific.
• The furthest airport from Wellington International Airport (WLG) is Salamanca-Matacán Airport (SLM), which is nearly antipodal to Wellington International Airport (meaning Wellington International Airport is almost on the exact opposite side of the Earth from Salamanca-Matacán Airport), and is located 12,406 miles (19,966 kilometers) away in Salamanca, Spain.

Facts about RAF Lakenheath (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.
• Cold War tensions with the Soviet Union in Europe began as early as 1946.
• 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.
• RAF Lakenheath, and nearby, RAF Mildenhall, are the two main U.S.
• By 1950, Lakenheath was one of three main operating bases for the U.S.
• The closest airport to RAF Lakenheath (LKZ) is RAF Mildenhall (MHZ), which is located only 4 miles (7 kilometers) SW of LKZ.