Nonstop flight route between Lewistown, Montana, United States and Lajes, Azores, Portugal:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Lewistown Municipal Airport (LWT), Lewistown, Montana, United States and Lajes Air Base (TER), Lajes, Azores, Portugal would travel a Great Circle distance of 4,013 miles (or 6,458 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 Lewistown Municipal 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 Lewistown Municipal 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 Lewistown Municipal Airport (LWT):

• Lewistown was a satellite field for Great Falls Army Air Base.
• In addition to being known as "Lewistown Municipal Airport", another name for LWT is "Lewistown Army Airfield".
• Because of Lewistown Municipal Airport's high elevation of 4,170 feet, planes must typically fly at a faster airspeed in order to takeoff or land at LWT. Combined with a high temperature, this could make LWT a "Hot & High" airport, where the air density is lower than it would otherwise be at sea level.
• The closest airport to Lewistown Municipal Airport (LWT) is Roundup Airport (RPX), which is located 59 miles (95 kilometers) SE of LWT.
• The furthest airport from Lewistown Municipal Airport (LWT) is Sir Gaëtan Duval Airport (RRG), which is located 10,508 miles (16,911 kilometers) away in Rodrigues Island, Mauritius.
• Federal Aviation Administration records say the airport had 596 passenger boardings in calendar year 2008, 1,049 in 2009 and 704 in 2010.
• Lewistown Municipal Airport (LWT) has 3 runways.

Facts about Lajes Air Base (TER):

• The closest airport to Lajes Air Base (TER) is Graciosa Airport (GRW), which is located 55 miles (89 kilometers) WNW of TER.
• In 2009 Lajes provided rescue support of shipping lanes across the Atlantic, a safe haven for medical or mechanical emergency situations in aircraft crossing the Atlantic, and support for the USAF's continuing campaigns in Iraq and Afghanistan.
• Lajes Air Base (TER) currently has only 1 runway.
• Lajes Field was one of the two stopover and refueling bases for the first transatlantic crossing of non-rigid airships in 1944.
• During the 1973 Yom Kippur War, Lajes Field also supported U.S.
• 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.
• 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.
• Portugal has explored contingencies in the event the United States military eventually abandons Lajes, including the possibility of entering an agreement with the People's Republic of China.
• 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.