Nonstop flight route between Alamogordo, New Mexico, United States and Lajes, Azores, Portugal:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Holloman Air Force Base Alamogordo Army Airfield (HMN), Alamogordo, New Mexico, United States and Lajes Air Base (TER), Lajes, Azores, Portugal would travel a Great Circle distance of 4,306 miles (or 6,930 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 Holloman Air Force Base Alamogordo Army Airfield 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 Holloman Air Force Base Alamogordo Army Airfield 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 Holloman Air Force Base Alamogordo Army Airfield (HMN):

• The closest airport to Holloman Air Force Base Alamogordo Army Airfield (HMN) is Alamogordo–White Sands Regional Airport (ALM), which is located only 7 miles (11 kilometers) E of HMN.
• The furthest airport from Holloman Air Force Base Alamogordo Army Airfield (HMN) is Sir Gaëtan Duval Airport (RRG), which is located 11,323 miles (18,222 kilometers) away in Rodrigues Island, Mauritius.
• The Tactical Fighter Wing arrived in July 1963 "making Holloman a TAC operating base" and on 8 April 1966, the 4758th Defense Systems Evaluation Squadron arrived from Biggs AFB Texas.
• In addition to being known as "Holloman Air Force Base Alamogordo Army Airfield", another name for HMN is "Holloman AFB".
• The Holloman Air Development Center became the base operating unit on 10 October 1952, and the 3,500 ft rocket-powered sled was first run on 19 March 1954.
• The German Air Force Tactical Training Center activated at Holloman 1 May 1996.
• With the September 1947 formation of the USAF, in late 1947 the Holloman range and the White Sands Proving Ground merged to become the New Mexico Joint Guided Missile Test Range,:248 and the renamed Holloman Air Force Base supported WSMR launch complex firing of Tiny Tim, Rascal, V-2 rocket, Ryan XQ-2 Drone, Falcon, MGM-13 Mace, MGM-1 Matador, and AGM-45 Shrike.
• In February 2006, the Bush Administration announced that Holloman would cease to be home to the F-117A Nighthawk.

Facts about Lajes Air Base (TER):

• Lajes provides support to 15,000 aircraft, including fighters from the US and 20 other allied nations each.
• 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.
• 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 closest airport to Lajes Air Base (TER) is Graciosa Airport (GRW), which is located 55 miles (89 kilometers) WNW of TER.
• 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.
• 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 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.