Nonstop flight route between Fox Glacier, New Zealand and Lajes, Azores, Portugal:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Fox Glacier Aerodrome (FGL), Fox Glacier, New Zealand and Lajes Air Base (TER), Lajes, Azores, Portugal would travel a Great Circle distance of 11,491 miles (or 18,493 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 Fox Glacier Aerodrome 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 Fox Glacier Aerodrome 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 Fox Glacier Aerodrome (FGL):

• The closest airport to Fox Glacier Aerodrome (FGL) is Mount Cook Airport (MON), which is located 22 miles (35 kilometers) SSE of FGL.
• The furthest airport from Fox Glacier Aerodrome (FGL) is A Coruña Airport (LCG), which is nearly antipodal to Fox Glacier Aerodrome (meaning Fox Glacier Aerodrome is almost on the exact opposite side of the Earth from A Coruña Airport), and is located 12,356 miles (19,884 kilometers) away in A Coruña, Spain.

Facts about Lajes Air Base (TER):

• 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 1980, an earthquake measuring 7.0 on the Richter scale struck Terceira Island.
• 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.
• 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".
• The Portuguese Air Force continues to operate one SAR squadron Esq.
• In 1947, the Portuguese Esquadra 41 started to operate from Lajes, equipped with Boeing SB-17, Grumman HU-16 Albatross, Douglas C-54 Skymaster and, later Sikorsky H-19.
• 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.
• 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.