Nonstop flight route between Benson, Minnesota, United States and Lajes, Azores, Portugal:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Benson Municipal Airport (BBB), Benson, Minnesota, United States and Lajes Air Base (TER), Lajes, Azores, Portugal would travel a Great Circle distance of 3,440 miles (or 5,536 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 Benson Municipal 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 Benson Municipal 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 Benson Municipal Airport (BBB):

• The furthest airport from Benson Municipal Airport (BBB) is Margaret River Airport (MGV), which is located 10,636 miles (17,116 kilometers) away in Margaret River, Western Australia, Australia.
• Benson Municipal Airport (BBB) currently has only 1 runway.
• The closest airport to Benson Municipal Airport (BBB) is Montevideo-Chippewa County Airport (MVE), which is located 25 miles (40 kilometers) S of BBB.

Facts about Lajes Air Base (TER):

• The resident Portuguese 711 Squadron "Albatrozes" was deactivated on 30 November 2006.
• 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".
• Another important Cold War operation at Lajes was the U.S.
• The base also supports other NATO and non-NATO armed forces assets crossing the Atlantic for transport, VIP, exercise, relief or humanitarian duties.
• 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.
• 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.
• The closest airport to Lajes Air Base (TER) is Graciosa Airport (GRW), which is located 55 miles (89 kilometers) WNW of TER.
• The United States and the United Kingdom transferred control of Lajes to Portugal in 1946.
• 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.
• 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.