Nonstop flight route between Lanseria, South Africa and Lajes, Azores, Portugal:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Lanseria International Airport (HLA), Lanseria, South Africa and Lajes Air Base (TER), Lajes, Azores, Portugal would travel a Great Circle distance of 5,710 miles (or 9,189 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 Lanseria 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 Lanseria 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 Lanseria International Airport (HLA):

• In addition to being known as "Lanseria International Airport", another name for HLA is "Lanseria".
• When Nelson Mandela was released from prison in 1990 he was flown to Johannesburg landing at Lanseria Airport.
• The furthest airport from Lanseria International Airport (HLA) is Hana Airport (HNM), which is nearly antipodal to Lanseria International Airport (meaning Lanseria International Airport is almost on the exact opposite side of the Earth from Hana Airport), and is located 12,002 miles (19,316 kilometers) away in Hana, Hawaii, United States.
• The closest airport to Lanseria International Airport (HLA) is Grand Central Airport (GCJ), which is located only 14 miles (22 kilometers) ESE of HLA.
• Various maintenance and avionics companies are situated on the airport including Interjet Maintenance, Exucujet, Lanseria Jet centre and NAC with various other smaller outfits.
• Lanseria International Airport (HLA) currently has only 1 runway.
• Because of Lanseria International Airport's high elevation of 4,520 feet, planes must typically fly at a faster airspeed in order to takeoff or land at HLA. Combined with a high temperature, this could make HLA a "Hot & High" airport, where the air density is lower than it would otherwise be at sea level.

Facts about Lajes Air Base (TER):

• 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.
• 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 United States and the United Kingdom transferred control of Lajes to Portugal in 1946.
• 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 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.
• The closest airport to Lajes Air Base (TER) is Graciosa Airport (GRW), which is located 55 miles (89 kilometers) WNW of TER.
• Lajes Air Base (TER) currently has only 1 runway.
• Today, Lajes continues to support transiting aircraft.
• 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.