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

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Bear Creek 3 Airport (BCC), Bear Creek, Alaska, United States and Lajes Air Base (TER), Lajes, Azores, Portugal would travel a Great Circle distance of 4,837 miles (or 7,784 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 Bear Creek 3 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 Bear Creek 3 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 Bear Creek 3 Airport (BCC):

• The closest airport to Bear Creek 3 Airport (BCC) is Takotna Airport (TCT), which is located 40 miles (65 kilometers) S of BCC.
• Bear Creek 3 Airport (BCC) currently has only 1 runway.
• Because of Bear Creek 3 Airport's relatively low elevation of 740 feet, planes can take off or land at Bear Creek 3 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 Bear Creek 3 Airport (BCC) is George Airport (GRJ), which is located 10,393 miles (16,726 kilometers) away in George, South Africa.
• In addition to being known as "Bear Creek 3 Airport", another name for BCC is "Z48".

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.
• By 1943, the British and American armed forces were allowed basing rights in Portugal, and the Royal Air Force took over Lajes Field as RAF Station 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.
• 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 Air Base (TER) currently has only 1 runway.
• In 1949, the North Atlantic Treaty Organization military alliance was established.
• In August 2006, Portuguese news agencies reported that both governments were in discussions for a new agreement that could allow the use of Lajes for the training of a permanent F-22 Raptor squadron.
• 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 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.