Nonstop flight route between Abau, Papua New Guinea and Lajes, Azores, Portugal:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Abau Airport (ABW), Abau, Papua New Guinea and Lajes Air Base (TER), Lajes, Azores, Portugal would travel a Great Circle distance of 10,444 miles (or 16,808 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 Abau Airport and Lajes Air Base, 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 Abau Airport and Lajes Air Base. 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 Abau Airport (ABW):

• Because of Abau Airport's relatively low elevation of 10 feet, planes can take off or land at Abau 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 Abau Airport (ABW) is Agaun Airport (AUP), which is located 49 miles (80 kilometers) ENE of ABW.
• The furthest airport from Abau Airport (ABW) is São Filipe Airport (SFL), which is located 11,873 miles (19,108 kilometers) away in Fogo, Cape Verde.

Facts about Lajes Air Base (TER):

• The closest airport to Lajes Air Base (TER) is Graciosa Airport (GRW), which is located 55 miles (89 kilometers) WNW of TER.
• Because of Lajes Air Base's relatively low elevation of 180 feet, planes can take off or land at Lajes Air Base 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.
• Another important Cold War operation at Lajes was the U.S.
• In addition to being known as "Lajes Air Base", other names for TER include "Base Aérea das Lajes", "Base Aérea Nº 4" and "Aeroporto das Lajes".
• The furthest airport from Lajes Air Base (TER) is Merimbula Airport (MIM), which is nearly antipodal to Lajes Air Base (meaning Lajes Air Base is almost on the exact opposite side of the Earth from Merimbula Airport), and is located 12,229 miles (19,680 kilometers) away in Merimbula, New South Wales, Australia.
• Lajes Air Base (TER) currently has only 1 runway.
• Lajes provides support to 15,000 aircraft, including fighters from the US and 20 other allied nations each.
• In 1947, the Portuguese Esquadra 41 started to operate from Lajes, equipped with Boeing SB-17, Grumman HU-16 Albatross, Douglas C-54 Skymaster and, later Sikorsky H-19.