Nonstop flight route between Atqasuk, Alaska, United States and Lajes, Azores, Portugal:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Atqasuk Edward Burnell Sr. Memorial Airport (ATK), Atqasuk, Alaska, United States and Lajes Air Base (TER), Lajes, Azores, Portugal would travel a Great Circle distance of 4,497 miles (or 7,237 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 Atqasuk Edward Burnell Sr. Memorial 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 Atqasuk Edward Burnell Sr. Memorial 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 Atqasuk Edward Burnell Sr. Memorial Airport (ATK):

• As per Federal Aviation Administration records, the airport had 2,105 passenger boardings in calendar year 2008, 2,107 enplanements in 2009, and 2,499 in 2010.
• Atqasuk Edward Burnell Sr. Memorial Airport (ATK) currently has only 1 runway.
• Because of Atqasuk Edward Burnell Sr. Memorial Airport's relatively low elevation of 101 feet, planes can take off or land at Atqasuk Edward Burnell Sr. Memorial 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 furthest airport from Atqasuk Edward Burnell Sr. Memorial Airport (ATK) is Teniente Rodolfo Marsh Airport (TNM), which is located 10,290 miles (16,560 kilometers) away in Villa Las Estrellas, Antarctica.
• The closest airport to Atqasuk Edward Burnell Sr. Memorial Airport (ATK) is Wiley Post–Will Rogers Memorial Airport (BRW), which is located 59 miles (94 kilometers) NNE of ATK.

Facts about Lajes Air Base (TER):

• In 1980, an earthquake measuring 7.0 on the Richter scale struck Terceira Island.
• 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.
• On August 9, 1954, a Lockheed L-749A-79 Constellation operated by Avianca crashed three minutes after take off.
• Lajes Air Base (TER) currently has only 1 runway.
• The closest airport to Lajes Air Base (TER) is Graciosa Airport (GRW), which is located 55 miles (89 kilometers) WNW of TER.
• In the summer of 1984, Lajes undertook a new mission known as "SILK PURSE." Boeing EC-135s began operating out of Lajes Field as an airborne command post for the U.S.
• The civilian terminal also plays an important role in support of passenger and cargo airliners, executive, corporate and private jets flying to the island or beyond as the central location in the Azores group of islands makes it an ideal spot for refuelling or stopover.
• Lajes Field was one of the two stopover and refueling bases for the first transatlantic crossing of non-rigid airships in 1944.
• 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".
• 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.