Nonstop flight route between Guantanamo Bay, Cuba and Lajes, Azores, Portugal:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between United States Naval Station Guantanamo Bay (NBW), Guantanamo Bay, Cuba and Lajes Air Base (TER), Lajes, Azores, Portugal would travel a Great Circle distance of 3,131 miles (or 5,039 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 United States Naval Station Guantanamo Bay 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 United States Naval Station Guantanamo Bay 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 United States Naval Station Guantanamo Bay (NBW):

• Notable persons born at the naval base include actor Peter Bergman and American guitarist Isaac Guillory.
• In the last quarter of the 20th century, the base was used to house Cuban and Haitian refugees intercepted on the high seas.
• The closest airport to United States Naval Station Guantanamo Bay (NBW) is Mariana Grajales Airport (GAO), which is located only 13 miles (21 kilometers) N of NBW.
• The furthest airport from United States Naval Station Guantanamo Bay (NBW) is RAAF Learmonth (LEA), which is located 11,820 miles (19,022 kilometers) away in Exmouth, Western Australia, Australia.
• The area surrounding Guantanamo bay was originally inhabited by the Taíno people.

Facts about Lajes Air Base (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.
• During World War II, the designation of the airfield was changed to Air Base No.4 and the Portuguese government expanded the runway, sending troops and equipment to Terceira, including Gloster Gladiator fighters.
• Lajes Field also played a crucial role in Cold War politics.
• Lajes supported the large airlift during the Gulf War.
• In the late 1950s, USAF air refueling/tanker aircraft were stationed at Lajes to provide inflight refueling for U.S.
• Lajes Air Base (TER) currently has only 1 runway.
• 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 closest airport to Lajes Air Base (TER) is Graciosa Airport (GRW), which is located 55 miles (89 kilometers) WNW of 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 provides support to 15,000 aircraft, including fighters from the US and 20 other allied nations each.