Nonstop flight route between Roswell, New Mexico, United States and Lajes, Azores, Portugal:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Roswell International Air Center (ROW), Roswell, New Mexico, United States and Lajes Air Base (TER), Lajes, Azores, Portugal would travel a Great Circle distance of 4,212 miles (or 6,778 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 Roswell International Air Center 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 Roswell International Air Center 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 Roswell International Air Center (ROW):

• RIAC is the home of the New Mexico Rehabilitation Center.
• The airport was used by Felix Baumgartner to launch his record-breaking freefall jump from the stratosphere on October 14, 2012.
• The RIAC is home to a plastic manufacturer.
• It is also known for the Roswell UFO incident, an event that supposedly happened on July 4, 1947.
• Roswell International Air Center (ROW) has 2 runways.
• The closest airport to Roswell International Air Center (ROW) is Artesia Municipal Airport (ATS), which is located 31 miles (50 kilometers) S of ROW.
• From 1941 to 1967, the facility was known as Roswell Army International Airfield during World War II, and Walker Air Force Base during the Cold War.
• The furthest airport from Roswell International Air Center (ROW) is Sir Gaëtan Duval Airport (RRG), which is located 11,241 miles (18,090 kilometers) away in Rodrigues Island, Mauritius.
• The Boeing Company uses RIAC for braking performance testing of its aircraft, most recent was the testing of the BF Goodrich carbon brakes on the 737-900ER model.

Facts about Lajes Air Base (TER):

• 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.
• Lajes supported the large airlift during the Gulf War.
• On 1 December 1943, British and U.S.
• 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.
• The closest airport to Lajes Air Base (TER) is Graciosa Airport (GRW), which is located 55 miles (89 kilometers) WNW of TER.
• In the late 1950s, USAF air refueling/tanker aircraft were stationed at Lajes to provide inflight refueling for U.S.
• The Portuguese Air Force continues to operate one SAR squadron Esq.
• 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 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.
• 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.