Nonstop flight route between Fort Stockton, Texas, United States and Lajes, Azores, Portugal:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Fort Stockton-Pecos County Airport (FST), Fort Stockton, Texas, United States and Lajes Air Base (TER), Lajes, Azores, Portugal would travel a Great Circle distance of 4,211 miles (or 6,778 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 Fort Stockton-Pecos County 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 Fort Stockton-Pecos County 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 Fort Stockton-Pecos County Airport (FST):

• Fort Stockton-Pecos County Airport (FST) has 4 runways.
• The closest airport to Fort Stockton-Pecos County Airport (FST) is Pecos Municipal Airport (PEQ), which is located 48 miles (77 kilometers) NW of FST.
• Inactivated on 12 March 1944 with the drawdown of AAFTC's pilot training program.
• The furthest airport from Fort Stockton-Pecos County Airport (FST) is Sir Gaëtan Duval Airport (RRG), which is located 11,286 miles (18,163 kilometers) away in Rodrigues Island, Mauritius.
• In addition to being known as "Fort Stockton-Pecos County Airport", another name for FST is "Gibbs Army Airfield".

Facts about Lajes Air Base (TER):

• 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.
• 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 United States and the United Kingdom transferred control of Lajes to Portugal in 1946.
• 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.
• Civilian operators may use Terceira Airport/Lajes Air Base after requesting a landing permit according to the rules inscribed in the AIP for Portugal, issued by the Portuguese Directorate of Civilian Aviation.
• Lajes Field also played a crucial role in Cold War politics.
• 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.
• The resident Portuguese 711 Squadron "Albatrozes" was deactivated on 30 November 2006.