Nonstop flight route between Pahokee, Florida, United States and Lajes, Azores, Portugal:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Palm Beach County Glades Airport (PHK), Pahokee, Florida, United States and Lajes Air Base (TER), Lajes, Azores, Portugal would travel a Great Circle distance of 3,175 miles (or 5,110 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 Palm Beach County Glades 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 Palm Beach County Glades 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 Palm Beach County Glades Airport (PHK):

• The closest airport to Palm Beach County Glades Airport (PHK) is Okeechobee County Airport (OBE), which is located 35 miles (56 kilometers) NNW of PHK.
• In 2004, Hurricane Frances and Hurricane Jeanne destroyed the airport's main building, causing operations to be conducted from a trailer.
• The airport's fixed base operator is Landmark Aviation.
• In addition to being known as "Palm Beach County Glades Airport", another name for PHK is "Pahokee Airport".
• Palm Beach County Glades Airport (PHK) currently has only 1 runway.
• The furthest airport from Palm Beach County Glades Airport (PHK) is Shark Bay Airport (MJK), which is located 11,552 miles (18,590 kilometers) away in Monkey Mia, Western Australia, Australia.
• Because of Palm Beach County Glades Airport's relatively low elevation of 16 feet, planes can take off or land at Palm Beach County Glades 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):

• Lajes Field was one of the two stopover and refueling bases for the first transatlantic crossing of non-rigid airships in 1944.
• In 1961, the Portuguese Air Force EICAP was transferred to Lajes, operating Douglas C-47, Douglas C-54 and later CASA C-212 Aviocar.
• Lajes Air Base (TER) currently has only 1 runway.
• 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 base also supports other NATO and non-NATO armed forces assets crossing the Atlantic for transport, VIP, exercise, relief or humanitarian duties.
• 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 1947, the Portuguese Esquadra 41 started to operate from Lajes, equipped with Boeing SB-17, Grumman HU-16 Albatross, Douglas C-54 Skymaster and, later Sikorsky H-19.
• 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.
• 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".
• The closest airport to Lajes Air Base (TER) is Graciosa Airport (GRW), which is located 55 miles (89 kilometers) WNW of TER.
• Recently, in August 2010, Portuguese news agencies advised for the termination of the F-22 Raptor plan to use Lajes as a platform for DACT training over the Atlantic Ocean.