Nonstop flight route between Palmdale, California, United States and Lajes, Azores, Portugal:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Palmdale Regional Airport (PMD), Palmdale, California, United States and Lajes Air Base (TER), Lajes, Azores, Portugal would travel a Great Circle distance of 4,825 miles (or 7,766 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 Palmdale 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 Palmdale 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 Palmdale Regional Airport (PMD):

• The closest airport to Palmdale Regional Airport (PMD) is General Wm. J. Fox Airfield (WJF), which is located only 11 miles (17 kilometers) NW of PMD.
• Palmdale Army Airfield was declared a surplus facility in 1946 and was purchased by Los Angeles County for use as a municipal airport.
• The Blackbird Airpark Museum is an extension of the AFFTC Museum at Edwards AFB, while the Heritage Airpark is operated by the City of Palmdale.
• In February 2007 the city of Palmdale and LAWA selected United Airlines to provide service between Palmdale and San Francisco International Airport.
• Palmdale Regional Airport (PMD) has 3 runways.
• Palmdale Regional Airport has a small airline terminal and a hangar.
• On February 1, 1991, USAir Flight 1493, a Boeing 737 landing on Runway 24L at LAX, collided upon touchdown with a SkyWest Airlines Fairchild Metroliner, Flight 5569 departing to Palmdale Regional Airport, that had been holding in position on the same runway.
• The furthest airport from Palmdale Regional Airport (PMD) is Pierrefonds Airport (ZSE), which is located 11,436 miles (18,405 kilometers) away in Saint-Pierre, Réunion.

Facts about Lajes Air Base (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".
• During the 1973 Yom Kippur War, Lajes Field also supported 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.
• Today, Lajes continues to support transiting aircraft.
• 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.
• 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.
• On 1 December 1943, British and U.S.
• Lajes supported the large airlift during the Gulf War.
• 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.