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

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Nome Airport (OME), Nome, Alaska, United States and Lajes Air Base (TER), Lajes, Azores, Portugal would travel a Great Circle distance of 4,952 miles (or 7,970 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 Nome 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 Nome 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 Nome Airport (OME):

• Because of Nome Airport's relatively low elevation of 37 feet, planes can take off or land at Nome 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.
• The closest airport to Nome Airport (OME) is Teller Airport (TLA), which is located 57 miles (91 kilometers) NNW of OME.
• As per Federal Aviation Administration records, the airport had 59,984 passenger boardings in calendar year 2008, 54,994 enplanements in 2009, and 56,658 in 2010.
• Nome Airport (OME) has 2 runways.
• In addition to being known as "Nome Airport", another name for OME is "(former Marks Air Force Base)".
• In World War II, the civilian Nome Airport shared use of the runway with Marks Army Airfield for transfer of Lend-Lease aircraft to the Soviet Union and in 1942, for air defense of the western coast of Alaska.
• Renamed Marks Air Force Base in 1948, the military installation was used as a fighter-interceptor forward base until they were pulled back to Galena Airport.
• The furthest airport from Nome Airport (OME) is Cape Town International Airport (CPT), which is located 10,320 miles (16,608 kilometers) away in Cape Town, South Africa.

Facts about Lajes Air Base (TER):

• 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.
• In the late 1950s, USAF air refueling/tanker aircraft were stationed at Lajes to provide inflight refueling for U.S.
• The closest airport to Lajes Air Base (TER) is Graciosa Airport (GRW), which is located 55 miles (89 kilometers) WNW of TER.
• On August 9, 1954, a Lockheed L-749A-79 Constellation operated by Avianca crashed three minutes after take off.
• 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.
• 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".
• 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.
• Lajes Air Base (TER) currently has only 1 runway.
• 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.