Nonstop flight route between Mangere, New Zealand and Lajes, Azores, Portugal:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Auckland Airport (AKL), Mangere, New Zealand and Lajes Air Base (TER), Lajes, Azores, Portugal would travel a Great Circle distance of 11,240 miles (or 18,089 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 Auckland 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 Auckland 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 Auckland Airport (AKL):

• Because of Auckland Airport's relatively low elevation of 23 feet, planes can take off or land at Auckland 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 two previously separate domestic terminal buildings have now been connected by a common retail area.
• In July 2009 Auckland Airport elected to delay a scheduled increase in its landing charges from 1 July 2009 to assist its airline customers during the recession.
• Auckland Airport (AKL) has 2 runways.
• Auckland Airport handled 14,829,393 passengers last year.
• In 2007, construction began on a second runway to the north of the current one.
• The closest airport to Auckland Airport (AKL) is Ardmore Airport (AMZ), which is located only 10 miles (16 kilometers) E of AKL.
• In 1960 work started to transform the site into Auckland's main airport, taking over from Whenuapai in the north-west of the city.
• The site of the airport was first used as an airfield by the Auckland Aero Club.
• The furthest airport from Auckland Airport (AKL) is Málaga Airport (AGP), which is nearly antipodal to Auckland Airport (meaning Auckland Airport is almost on the exact opposite side of the Earth from Málaga Airport), and is located 12,391 miles (19,942 kilometers) away in Málaga, Spain.

Facts about Lajes Air Base (TER):

• In 1980, an earthquake measuring 7.0 on the Richter scale struck Terceira Island.
• Lajes Field was one of the two stopover and refueling bases for the first transatlantic crossing of non-rigid airships in 1944.
• Lajes Air Base (TER) currently has only 1 runway.
• 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 closest airport to Lajes Air Base (TER) is Graciosa Airport (GRW), which is located 55 miles (89 kilometers) WNW of TER.
• Another important Cold War operation at Lajes was the U.S.
• Lajes provides support to 15,000 aircraft, including fighters from the US and 20 other allied nations each.
• 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.
• 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.