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

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Port Protection Seaplane Base (PPV), Port Protection, Alaska, United States and Lajes Air Base (TER), Lajes, Azores, Portugal would travel a Great Circle distance of 4,597 miles (or 7,399 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 Port Protection Seaplane Base 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 Port Protection Seaplane Base 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 Port Protection Seaplane Base (PPV):

• The furthest airport from Port Protection Seaplane Base (PPV) is Port Alfred Airport (AFD), which is located 10,611 miles (17,077 kilometers) away in Port Alfred, South Africa.
• In addition to being known as "Port Protection Seaplane Base", another name for PPV is "19P".
• Port Protection Seaplane Base (PPV) currently has only 1 runway.
• The closest airport to Port Protection Seaplane Base (PPV) is Point Baker Seaplane Base (KPB), which is located only 2 miles (3 kilometers) NNW of PPV.
• Because of Port Protection Seaplane Base's relatively low elevation of 0 feet, planes can take off or land at Port Protection Seaplane 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.

Facts about Lajes Air Base (TER):

• On 1 December 1943, British and U.S.
• 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.
• 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.
• 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.
• Another important Cold War operation at Lajes was the U.S.
• In 1980, an earthquake measuring 7.0 on the Richter scale struck Terceira Island.
• 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 United States and the United Kingdom transferred control of Lajes to Portugal in 1946.