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

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Lajes Air Base (TER), Lajes, Azores, Portugal and Wainwright Airport (AIN), Fort Wainwright, Alaska, United States would travel a Great Circle distance of 4,526 miles (or 7,283 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 Lajes Air Base and Wainwright Airport, 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 Lajes Air Base and Wainwright Airport. 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 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.
• The closest airport to Lajes Air Base (TER) is Graciosa Airport (GRW), which is located 55 miles (89 kilometers) WNW of 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".
• 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.
• Today, Lajes continues to support transiting aircraft.
• 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.
• In 1949, the North Atlantic Treaty Organization military alliance was established.

Facts about Wainwright Airport (AIN):

• The LRR site was inactivated in 2007 due to soil erosion and budget concerns.
• The radar station was upgraded in the late 1980s with new radars and in 1989 was re-designated part of the North Warning System as a Long Range Radar Site, A-16, controlled by the Pacific Air Forces 611th Air Support Group, based at Elmendorf AFB.
• In addition to being known as "Wainwright Airport", another name for AIN is "AWI".
• The closest airport to Wainwright Airport (AIN) is Atqasuk Edward Burnell Sr. Memorial Airport (ATK), which is located 60 miles (97 kilometers) E of AIN.
• The airport was built in 1957 to support the Distant Early Warning Line Radar station at Wainwright.
• The furthest airport from Wainwright Airport (AIN) is Teniente Rodolfo Marsh Airport (TNM), which is located 10,348 miles (16,654 kilometers) away in Villa Las Estrellas, Antarctica.
• Because of Wainwright Airport's relatively low elevation of 45 feet, planes can take off or land at Wainwright 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.
• Wainwright Airport (AIN) currently has only 1 runway.