Nonstop flight route between Meadville, Pennsylvania, United States and Lajes, Azores, Portugal:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Port Meadville Airport (MEJ), Meadville, Pennsylvania, United States and Lajes Air Base (TER), Lajes, Azores, Portugal would travel a Great Circle distance of 2,766 miles (or 4,452 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 Port Meadville 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 Port Meadville 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 Port Meadville Airport (MEJ):

• The closest airport to Port Meadville Airport (MEJ) is Venango Regional Airport (FKL), which is located 25 miles (40 kilometers) SE of MEJ.
• The furthest airport from Port Meadville Airport (MEJ) is Margaret River Airport (MGV), which is located 11,448 miles (18,424 kilometers) away in Margaret River, Western Australia, Australia.
• Port Meadville Airport (MEJ) currently has only 1 runway.
• In addition to being known as "Port Meadville Airport", another name for MEJ is "GKJ".
• Port Meadville Airport covers an area of 250 acres at an elevation of 1,399 feet above mean sea level.

Facts about Lajes Air Base (TER):

• Lajes Air Base (TER) currently has only 1 runway.
• Base Aérea das LajesBase Aérea Nº 4Aeroporto das Lajes
• The resident Portuguese 711 Squadron "Albatrozes" was deactivated on 30 November 2006.
• 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 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 Field was one of the two stopover and refueling bases for the first transatlantic crossing of non-rigid airships in 1944.
• 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.
• Recently, in August 2010, Portuguese news agencies advised for the termination of the F-22 Raptor plan to use Lajes as a platform for DACT training over the Atlantic Ocean.
• 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".
• Lajes Field also played a crucial role in Cold War politics.