Nonstop flight route between Indianapolis, Indiana, United States and Lajes, Azores, Portugal:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Indianapolis International Airport (IND), Indianapolis, Indiana, United States and Lajes Air Base (TER), Lajes, Azores, Portugal would travel a Great Circle distance of 3,109 miles (or 5,003 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 Indianapolis 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 Indianapolis 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 Indianapolis International Airport (IND):

• Indianapolis International Airport handled 7,526,414 passengers last year.
• The airport's master plan calls for a fourth runway to be built southeast of I-70 sometime in the future.
• Because of Indianapolis International Airport's relatively low elevation of 797 feet, planes can take off or land at Indianapolis 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.
• The closest airport to Indianapolis International Airport (IND) is Pope Field (GFD), which is located 30 miles (48 kilometers) E of IND.
• During the late 1980s and early 1990s USAir had a secondary hub in Indianapolis with non-stop jets to the west coast, east coast, and Florida and turboprop flights to cities around the Midwest.
• In 2009 Republic Airways announced they would retain their maintenance hub and HQ in Indianapolis even though they acquired the much larger Frontier Airlines in Denver.
• The A concourse has a Delta Sky Club, the first airline lounge at Indianapolis International Airport since US Air closed their lounge after the closure of their hub.
• On October 20, 1987 a United States Air Force A-7D Corsair II crashed into a Ramada Inn near the airport after the pilot was forced to eject due to an engine malfunction.
• The furthest airport from Indianapolis International Airport (IND) is Margaret River Airport (MGV), which is located 11,191 miles (18,011 kilometers) away in Margaret River, Western Australia, Australia.
• Indianapolis International Airport (IND) has 3 runways.
• In the late 1990s and early 2000s Indianapolis was a hub for then locally based ATA Airlines and its regional affiliate, Chicago Express/ATA Connection.
• A new 1,200,000-square-foot midfield passenger terminal opened between Indianapolis International Airport's two parallel runways, southwest of the previous terminal and the crosswind runway in 2008.
• On October 31, 1994, American Eagle Flight 4184, which was flying from Indianapolis to Chicago, Illinois's O'Hare International Airport, crashed into a soybean field near the northwestern Indiana town of Roselawn, killing all 68 on board.
• FedEx Express opened their Indianapolis hub in 1988.

Facts about Lajes Air Base (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 provides support to 15,000 aircraft, including fighters from the US and 20 other allied nations each.
• Lajes Air Base (TER) currently has only 1 runway.
• 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 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 United States and the United Kingdom transferred control of Lajes to Portugal in 1946.
• Another important Cold War operation at Lajes was the U.S.
• The closest airport to Lajes Air Base (TER) is Graciosa Airport (GRW), which is located 55 miles (89 kilometers) WNW of TER.