Nonstop flight route between Lajes, Azores, Portugal and Benton Harbor, Michigan, United States:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Lajes Air Base (TER), Lajes, Azores, Portugal and Southwest Michigan Regional Airport (BEH), Benton Harbor, Michigan, United States would travel a Great Circle distance of 3,065 miles (or 4,933 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 Southwest Michigan Regional 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 Southwest Michigan Regional 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.
• Lajes Air Base (TER) currently has only 1 runway.
• On 14 December 2012 it was announced that personnel at Lajes Field will be reduced in 2014 with a reduction of 400 military personnel and 500 family members.
• 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.
• During the Portuguese Colonial War, from 1961 to 1975, the Air Force Hospital at Lajes operated as the main centre for treatment and rehabilitation of mutilated and heavy burned soldiers of the three services of the Portuguese Armed Forces.
• 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 resident Portuguese 711 Squadron "Albatrozes" was deactivated on 30 November 2006.
• The civilian terminal also plays an important role in support of passenger and cargo airliners, executive, corporate and private jets flying to the island or beyond as the central location in the Azores group of islands makes it an ideal spot for refuelling or stopover.
• The United States and the United Kingdom transferred control of Lajes to Portugal in 1946.
• Base Aérea das LajesBase Aérea Nº 4Aeroporto das Lajes
• Lajes Field was one of the two stopover and refueling bases for the first transatlantic crossing of non-rigid airships in 1944.

Facts about Southwest Michigan Regional Airport (BEH):

• Southwest Michigan Regional Airport covers an area of 485 acres at an elevation of 649 feet above mean sea level.
• There is no commercial airline with scheduled passenger service at the airport.
• The furthest airport from Southwest Michigan Regional Airport (BEH) is Margaret River Airport (MGV), which is located 11,140 miles (17,929 kilometers) away in Margaret River, Western Australia, Australia.
• The closest airport to Southwest Michigan Regional Airport (BEH) is Jerry Tyler Memorial Airport (NLE), which is located 22 miles (36 kilometers) SSE of BEH.
• Southwest Michigan Regional Airport (BEH) has 3 runways.
• Southwest Michigan Regional Airport is a public use airport located two nautical miles northeast of the central business district of Benton Harbor, a city in Berrien County, Michigan, United States.
• Because of Southwest Michigan Regional Airport's relatively low elevation of 649 feet, planes can take off or land at Southwest Michigan Regional 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.
• It was previously served from 1995 to 2000 by Mesaba Airlines, offering five daily flights to the Northwest Airlines hub at Detroit.
• Opened in 1973, the air traffic control tower sits abandoned to the present day after its closure during a 1981 controller strike.