Nonstop flight route between Lajes, Azores, Portugal and Sugawa, Fukushima, Japan:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Lajes Air Base (TER), Lajes, Azores, Portugal and Fukushima Airport (FKS), Sugawa, Fukushima, Japan would travel a Great Circle distance of 7,127 miles (or 11,469 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 Fukushima 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 Fukushima 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):

• Lajes Air Base (TER) currently has only 1 runway.
• 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.
• Lajes Field also played a crucial role in Cold War politics.
• Lajes supported the large airlift during the Gulf War.
• The origin of the Lajes Field dates back to 1928, when Portuguese Army Lieutenant colonel Eduardo Gomes da Silva wrote a report on the possible construction of an airfield in the plainland of Lajes, for that branch's aviation service.
• In 1949, the North Atlantic Treaty Organization military alliance was established.
• 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".
• Lajes provides support to 15,000 aircraft, including fighters from the US and 20 other allied nations each.
• Lajes Field was one of the two stopover and refueling bases for the first transatlantic crossing of non-rigid airships in 1944.
• 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.
• 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.
• By 1943, the British and American armed forces were allowed basing rights in Portugal, and the Royal Air Force took over Lajes Field as RAF Station Lajes.

Facts about Fukushima Airport (FKS):

• In addition to being known as "Fukushima Airport", other names for FKS include "福島空港" and "Fukushima Kūkō".
• The last episode of the TV drama Crying Out Love, In the Center of the World was filmed at Fukushima Airport in 2004.
• Fukushima Airport (FKS) currently has only 1 runway.
• The furthest airport from Fukushima Airport (FKS) is Rio Grande Regional Airport (RIG), which is located 11,639 miles (18,731 kilometers) away in Rio Grande, Brazil.
• The closest airport to Fukushima Airport (FKS) is Utsunomiya Air Field (QUT), which is located 58 miles (94 kilometers) SSW of FKS.
• The airport remained operational during and following the 2011 Tōhoku earthquake and tsunami and Fukushima Daiichi nuclear disaster in March 2011, and temporarily saw increased domestic service during the closure of the Tōhoku Shinkansen high-speed rail line to Tokyo.