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

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between El Paso International Airport (ELP), El Paso, Texas, United States and Lajes Air Base (TER), Lajes, Azores, Portugal would travel a Great Circle distance of 4,357 miles (or 7,011 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 El Paso 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 El Paso 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 El Paso International Airport (ELP):

• What became El Paso International Airport was built as Standard Airport by Standard Airlines in 1929 for transcontinental air mail service.
• The closest airport to El Paso International Airport (ELP) is Biggs Army Airfield (BIF), which is located only 3 miles (5 kilometers) N of ELP.
• In 1934, Varney Speed Lines operated at the old El Paso Municipal Airport.
• The passenger concourses were built in 1971 as part of an expansion that tripled the size of the airport.
• The furthest airport from El Paso International Airport (ELP) is Sir Gaëtan Duval Airport (RRG), which is located 11,389 miles (18,329 kilometers) away in Rodrigues Island, Mauritius.
• El Paso International Airport handled 3,065,393 passengers last year.
• El Paso was the last stop of the first hijacking of a jetliner, a Boeing 707 owned by Continental Airlines.
• El Paso International Airport (ELP) has 3 runways.

Facts about Lajes Air Base (TER):

• In 1961, the Portuguese Air Force EICAP was transferred to Lajes, operating Douglas C-47, Douglas C-54 and later CASA C-212 Aviocar.
• 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.
• During the 1973 Yom Kippur War, Lajes Field also supported U.S.
• In 1980, an earthquake measuring 7.0 on the Richter scale struck Terceira Island.
• 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.
• 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.
• 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.
• Lajes provides support to 15,000 aircraft, including fighters from the US and 20 other allied nations each.
• The closest airport to Lajes Air Base (TER) is Graciosa Airport (GRW), which is located 55 miles (89 kilometers) WNW of 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.