Nonstop flight route between Mogadishu, Somalia and Lajes, Azores, Portugal:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Aden Adde International Airport (MGQ), Mogadishu, Somalia and Lajes Air Base (TER), Lajes, Azores, Portugal would travel a Great Circle distance of 5,187 miles (or 8,347 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 Aden Adde 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 Aden Adde 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 Aden Adde International Airport (MGQ):

• The closest airport to Aden Adde International Airport (MGQ) is Baidoa Airport (BIB), which is located 138 miles (223 kilometers) WNW of MGQ.
• On 20 August 2012, the Aden Adde International Airport hosted the swearing in ceremony for many legislators in the nation's new Federal Parliament.
• The furthest airport from Aden Adde International Airport (MGQ) is Atuona Airport (AUQ), which is located 11,824 miles (19,029 kilometers) away in Atuona, Marquesas Islands, French Polynesia.
• With the collapse of the Siad Barre regime and the ensuing civil war, the airport's ongoing renovations came to a halt.
• Aden Adde International Airport (MGQ) currently has only 1 runway.
• Additionally, the IOM has helped firm up on airport security by training 84 civil aviation, immigration, finance and customs department officers on proper border management and immigration protocol.

Facts about Lajes Air Base (TER):

• On 14 December 2012 it was announced that personnel at Lajes Field will be reduced in 2014 with a reduction of 400 military personnel and 500 family members.
• By 1943, the British and American armed forces were allowed basing rights in Portugal, and the Royal Air Force took over Lajes Field as RAF Station Lajes.
• Another important Cold War operation at Lajes was the U.S.
• Lajes Air Base (TER) currently has only 1 runway.
• The United States and the United Kingdom transferred control of Lajes to Portugal in 1946.
• 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.
• 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 closest airport to Lajes Air Base (TER) is Graciosa Airport (GRW), which is located 55 miles (89 kilometers) WNW of TER.
• 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.
• Lajes Field also played a crucial role in Cold War politics.
• Lajes Field was one of the two stopover and refueling bases for the first transatlantic crossing of non-rigid airships in 1944.
• 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.