Nonstop flight route between Amarillo, Texas, United States and Lajes, Azores, Portugal:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Rick Husband Amarillo International Airport (AMA), Amarillo, Texas, United States and Lajes Air Base (TER), Lajes, Azores, Portugal would travel a Great Circle distance of 4,007 miles (or 6,448 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 Rick Husband Amarillo International 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 Rick Husband Amarillo International 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 Rick Husband Amarillo International Airport (AMA):

• Rick Husband Amarillo International Airport (AMA) has 2 runways.
• In 1952 the name changed to Amarillo Air Terminal.
• The closest airport to Rick Husband Amarillo International Airport (AMA) is Tradewind Airport (TDW), which is located only 8 miles (12 kilometers) WSW of AMA.
• The furthest airport from Rick Husband Amarillo International Airport (AMA) is Sir Gaëtan Duval Airport (RRG), which is located 11,034 miles (17,757 kilometers) away in Rodrigues Island, Mauritius.
• In 2003 the airport terminal building was rededicated to NASA astronaut Rick Husband, the commander of mission STS-107 of the Space Shuttle Columbia and an Amarillo native.

Facts about Lajes Air Base (TER):

• 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.
• In 2009 Lajes provided rescue support of shipping lanes across the Atlantic, a safe haven for medical or mechanical emergency situations in aircraft crossing the Atlantic, and support for the USAF's continuing campaigns in Iraq and Afghanistan.
• Recently, in August 2010, Portuguese news agencies advised for the termination of the F-22 Raptor plan to use Lajes as a platform for DACT training over the Atlantic Ocean.
• 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".
• Lajes Field was one of the two stopover and refueling bases for the first transatlantic crossing of non-rigid airships in 1944.
• The resident Portuguese 711 Squadron "Albatrozes" was deactivated on 30 November 2006.
• The base also supports other NATO and non-NATO armed forces assets crossing the Atlantic for transport, VIP, exercise, relief or humanitarian duties.
• Lajes Air Base (TER) currently has only 1 runway.
• 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 closest airport to Lajes Air Base (TER) is Graciosa Airport (GRW), which is located 55 miles (89 kilometers) WNW of TER.