Nonstop flight route between Mountain Village, Alaska, United States and Lajes, Azores, Portugal:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Mountain Village Airport (MOU), Mountain Village, Alaska, United States and Lajes Air Base (TER), Lajes, Azores, Portugal would travel a Great Circle distance of 5,061 miles (or 8,145 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 Mountain Village 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 Mountain Village 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 Mountain Village Airport (MOU):

• Mountain Village Airport (MOU) currently has only 1 runway.
• The closest airport to Mountain Village Airport (MOU) is St. Mary's Airport (KSM), which is located only 13 miles (20 kilometers) E of MOU.
• The furthest airport from Mountain Village Airport (MOU) is Cape Town International Airport (CPT), which is located 10,491 miles (16,883 kilometers) away in Cape Town, South Africa.
• Because of Mountain Village Airport's relatively low elevation of 337 feet, planes can take off or land at Mountain Village 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.

Facts about Lajes Air Base (TER):

• 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.
• The origin of the Lajes Field dates back to 1928, when Portuguese Army Lieutenant colonel Eduardo Gomes da Silva wrote a report on the possible construction of an airfield in the plainland of Lajes, for that branch's aviation service.
• Another important Cold War operation at Lajes was the U.S.
• 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 Air Base (TER) currently has only 1 runway.
• The closest airport to Lajes Air Base (TER) is Graciosa Airport (GRW), which is located 55 miles (89 kilometers) WNW of TER.
• In the late 1950s, USAF air refueling/tanker aircraft were stationed at Lajes to provide inflight refueling for U.S.
• Today, Lajes continues to support transiting aircraft.
• 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 supported the large airlift during the Gulf War.