Nonstop flight route between St. Helens, Tasmania, Australia and Horta, Azores, Portugal:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between St Helens Airport (HLS), St. Helens, Tasmania, Australia and Horta International Airport (HOR), Horta, Azores, Portugal would travel a Great Circle distance of 12,185 miles (or 19,611 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 St Helens Airport and Horta International Airport, 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 St Helens Airport and Horta International Airport. You'll see that it will travel the same route of the red line on this map!

The distance between HLS and HOR makes them almost exactly antipodal (the exact opposite side of the world) to each other. Nonstop flights between St Helens Airport and Horta International Airport would be very impractical for the airlines, because only a lightly loaded Boeing 777-200LR would be able to make the trip. Since airlines need to be able to take as many people and cargo as possible in order to make a profit, the odds of ever seeing a nonstop flight between HLS and HOR are slim to none. However, you'll still be able to get from St. Helens, Tasmania, Australia and Horta, Azores, Portugal by taking some connecting flights!

Did you know that one full circling of the Earth (measuring from the equator) is about 24,901.5 miles (or 40,075 kilometers), which means if you were 12,450 miles from any given point on the planet, the distance back to your starting point would be about the same -- in any direction! The same can be said for a nonstop flight between HLS and HOR!

Departure Airport Information:

Arrival Airport Information:

Facts about St Helens Airport (HLS):

• The closest airport to St Helens Airport (HLS) is Launceston Airport (LST), which is located 57 miles (92 kilometers) WSW of HLS.
• St Helens Airport (HLS) currently has only 1 runway.
• Because of St Helens Airport's relatively low elevation of 158 feet, planes can take off or land at St Helens 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 St Helens Airport (HLS) is Corvo Airport (CVU), which is nearly antipodal to St Helens Airport (meaning St Helens Airport is almost on the exact opposite side of the Earth from Corvo Airport), and is located 12,317 miles (19,823 kilometers) away in Corvo Island, Azores, Portugal.

Facts about Horta International Airport (HOR):

• Horta Airport is an airport located in the parish of Castelo Branco, 9.5 km northeast of the center of Horta, on Faial Island in the archipelago of the Azores.
• The closest airport to Horta International Airport (HOR) is Pico Airport (PIX), which is located only 15 miles (24 kilometers) E of HOR.
• Following the 2001 renovation, the airport was designated an international airport.
• Horta International Airport (HOR) currently has only 1 runway.
• In addition to being known as "Horta International Airport", another name for HOR is "Aeroporto Internacional da Horta".
• The airport at Horta was inaugurated on August 24, 1971 by then President Almirante Américo Tomás.
• Horta International Airport handled 191,969 passengers last year.
• The furthest airport from Horta International Airport (HOR) is Merimbula Airport (MIM), which is nearly antipodal to Horta International Airport (meaning Horta International Airport is almost on the exact opposite side of the Earth from Merimbula Airport), and is located 12,302 miles (19,799 kilometers) away in Merimbula, New South Wales, Australia.
• Because of Horta International Airport's relatively low elevation of 118 feet, planes can take off or land at Horta International 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.
• On the afternoon of 28 July 2011, a refurbished control tower was inaugurated, which permitted the airport to oversee the Central Group, as well as the Western Group of islands.