Nonstop flight route between Madison, Wisconsin, United States and Lajes, Azores, Portugal:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Dane County Regional Airport (MSN), Madison, Wisconsin, United States and Lajes Air Base (TER), Lajes, Azores, Portugal would travel a Great Circle distance of 3,187 miles (or 5,129 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 Dane County Regional 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 Dane County Regional 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 Dane County Regional Airport (MSN):

• Because of Dane County Regional Airport's relatively low elevation of 887 feet, planes can take off or land at Dane County Regional 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.
• Dane County Regional Airport handled 1,615,841 passengers last year.
• Dane County Regional Airport (MSN) has 3 runways.
• In addition to being known as "Dane County Regional Airport", another name for MSN is "Truax Field".
• The furthest airport from Dane County Regional Airport (MSN) is Margaret River Airport (MGV), which is located 10,978 miles (17,667 kilometers) away in Margaret River, Western Australia, Australia.
• Originally known as Madison Army Airfield, Truax Field was activated as an U.S.
• Truax Field was named in honor of Lieutenant Thomas L.
• The fixed base operator is Wisconsin Aviation, which purchased the assets of the former FBO, Four Lakes Aviation, in 1994.
• The closest airport to Dane County Regional Airport (MSN) is Dodge County Airport (UNU), which is located 38 miles (60 kilometers) ENE of MSN.

Facts about Lajes Air Base (TER):

• 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.
• Another important Cold War operation at Lajes was the U.S.
• 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.
• 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 1949, the North Atlantic Treaty Organization military alliance was established.
• 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".
• On August 9, 1954, a Lockheed L-749A-79 Constellation operated by Avianca crashed three minutes after take off.
• The closest airport to Lajes Air Base (TER) is Graciosa Airport (GRW), which is located 55 miles (89 kilometers) WNW of TER.
• 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.
• Lajes Field also played a crucial role in Cold War politics.