Nonstop flight route between Hammerfest, Finnmark, Norway and Lajes, Azores, Portugal:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Hammerfest Airport (HFT), Hammerfest, Finnmark, Norway and Lajes Air Base (TER), Lajes, Azores, Portugal would travel a Great Circle distance of 2,837 miles (or 4,566 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 Hammerfest 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 Hammerfest 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 Hammerfest Airport (HFT):

• In addition to being known as "Hammerfest Airport", another name for HFT is "Hammerfest lufthavn".
• The closest airport to Hammerfest Airport (HFT) is Hasvik Airport (HAA), which is located 38 miles (60 kilometers) WSW of HFT.
• The first plans for serving Hammerfest with an airline route was launched in a government plan from 1933.
• Avinor is considering building a new airport at Grøtnes, which would be built as reclaimed land 15 kilometers from Hammerfest.
• Hammerfest Airport handled 120,503 passengers last year.
• The terminal has a capacity for 250 passengers per hour.
• Because of Hammerfest Airport's relatively low elevation of 262 feet, planes can take off or land at Hammerfest 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 Hammerfest Airport (HFT) is Chatham Islands (CHT), which is located 10,456 miles (16,828 kilometers) away in Waitangi, Chatham Islands, New Zealand.

Facts about Lajes Air Base (TER):

• Today, Lajes continues to support transiting aircraft.
• Lajes Air Base (TER) currently has only 1 runway.
• 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.
• 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".
• Another important Cold War operation at Lajes was the U.S.
• The base also supports other NATO and non-NATO armed forces assets crossing the Atlantic for transport, VIP, exercise, relief or humanitarian duties.
• 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.
• In the late 1950s, USAF air refueling/tanker aircraft were stationed at Lajes to provide inflight refueling for U.S.
• 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.