Nonstop flight route between Zihuatanejo, Guerrero, Mexico and Lakenheath, England, United Kingdom:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Ixtapa-Zihuatanejo International Airport (ZIH), Zihuatanejo, Guerrero, Mexico and RAF Lakenheath (LKZ), Lakenheath, England, United Kingdom would travel a Great Circle distance of 5,748 miles (or 9,250 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 Ixtapa-Zihuatanejo 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 Ixtapa-Zihuatanejo 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 Ixtapa-Zihuatanejo International Airport (ZIH):

• The closest airport to Ixtapa-Zihuatanejo International Airport (ZIH) is Lázaro Cárdenas Airport (LZC), which is located 57 miles (92 kilometers) WNW of ZIH.
• In addition to being known as "Ixtapa-Zihuatanejo International Airport", another name for ZIH is "Aeropuerto Internacional de Ixtapa-Zihuatanejo".
• The furthest airport from Ixtapa-Zihuatanejo International Airport (ZIH) is Sir Gaëtan Duval Airport (RRG), which is located 11,433 miles (18,399 kilometers) away in Rodrigues Island, Mauritius.
• Because of Ixtapa-Zihuatanejo International Airport's relatively low elevation of 26 feet, planes can take off or land at Ixtapa-Zihuatanejo 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.
• Ixtapa-Zihuatanejo International Airport (ZIH) currently has only 1 runway.

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.
• 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.
• Lakenheath Airfield was used by RAF flying units on detachment late in 1941.
• In April 1947, RAF Bomber Command returned to Lakenheath and had the runways repaired, resurfaced, and readied for operations by May 1948.
• Aircraft of the 48th FW carry the tail code "LN".
• The reason for the departure of the two bomber squadrons was Lakenheath's selection for upgrading to a Very Heavy Bomber airfield.