Nonstop flight route between Ghanzi, Botswana and Lajes, Azores, Portugal:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Ghanzi Airport (GNZ), Ghanzi, Botswana and Lajes Air Base (TER), Lajes, Azores, Portugal would travel a Great Circle distance of 5,233 miles (or 8,422 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 Ghanzi 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 Ghanzi 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 Ghanzi Airport (GNZ):

• Ghanzi Airport is located about 600 km west of Gaborone, in the Ghanzi District.
• The furthest airport from Ghanzi Airport (GNZ) is Dillingham Airfield (HDH), which is nearly antipodal to Ghanzi Airport (meaning Ghanzi Airport is almost on the exact opposite side of the Earth from Dillingham Airfield), and is located 12,425 miles (19,995 kilometers) away in Mokuleia, Hawaii, United States.
• The closest airport to Ghanzi Airport (GNZ) is Hukuntsi Airport (HUK), which is located 159 miles (256 kilometers) S of GNZ.
• The airport has a bitumen sealed 1500 metres long and 18 metres wide runway and is designed to handle light aircraft with Maximum All Up Weight of 5700 kg.
• · Latitude 21° 42’ 00” South · Longitude 021° 40’ 00” East · Elevation 1137 m above sea-level · Reference temperature 340 C
• Because of Ghanzi Airport's relatively low elevation of 0 feet, planes can take off or land at Ghanzi 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.

Facts about Lajes Air Base (TER):

• Despite NATO and non-NATO fighter and transport planes which continue to use Lajes on a regular basis, the US DoD movements are now at an all time low.
• In the summer of 1984, Lajes undertook a new mission known as "SILK PURSE." Boeing EC-135s began operating out of Lajes Field as an airborne command post for the U.S.
• 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".
• The Portuguese Air Force continues to operate one SAR squadron Esq.
• 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 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.
• 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 Field was one of the two stopover and refueling bases for the first transatlantic crossing of non-rigid airships in 1944.