Nonstop flight route between Nadi, Fiji and Lajes, Azores, Portugal:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Nadi International Airport (NAN), Nadi, Fiji and Lajes Air Base (TER), Lajes, Azores, Portugal would travel a Great Circle distance of 10,368 miles (or 16,685 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 Nadi 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 Nadi 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 Nadi International Airport (NAN):

• Nadi International Airport (NAN) has 2 runways.
• Because of Nadi International Airport's relatively low elevation of 59 feet, planes can take off or land at Nadi International 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.
• Nadi is the operational base for Fiji Airways, which services six airports throughout the southwest Pacific, and many more on the Pacific Rim.
• The furthest airport from Nadi International Airport (NAN) is Timbuktu Airport (TOM), which is nearly antipodal to Nadi International Airport (meaning Nadi International Airport is almost on the exact opposite side of the Earth from Timbuktu Airport), and is located 12,360 miles (19,891 kilometers) away in Timbuktu, Mali.
• The closest airport to Nadi International Airport (NAN) is Mana Island Airport (MNF), which is located 23 miles (38 kilometers) WNW of NAN.
• Nadi was selected as the major airport for Fiji mainly due to its location on the drier west coast of Viti Levu.
• Today, the largest concentration of hotels in Fiji has grown up in and around Nadi.
• After the war ended, control of Nadi Airport was handed over to New Zealand on 20 December 1946, and the Civil Aviation Authority of New Zealand began operations from Nadi in 1947.

Facts about Lajes Air Base (TER):

• In the summer of 1984, Lajes undertook a new mission known as "SILK PURSE." Boeing EC-135s began operating out of Lajes Field as an airborne command post for 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.
• 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.
• The United States and the United Kingdom transferred control of Lajes to Portugal in 1946.
• 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 1961, the Portuguese Air Force EICAP was transferred to Lajes, operating Douglas C-47, Douglas C-54 and later CASA C-212 Aviocar.
• 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".
• Today, Lajes continues to support transiting aircraft.
• 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.