Nonstop flight route between Lajes, Azores, Portugal and Helsinki / Malmi, Finland:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Lajes Air Base (TER), Lajes, Azores, Portugal and Helsinki-Malmi Airport (HEM), Helsinki / Malmi, Finland would travel a Great Circle distance of 2,670 miles (or 4,297 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 Helsinki-Malmi 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 Helsinki-Malmi 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):

• 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 1961, the Portuguese Air Force EICAP was transferred to Lajes, operating Douglas C-47, Douglas C-54 and later CASA C-212 Aviocar.
• The closest airport to Lajes Air Base (TER) is Graciosa Airport (GRW), which is located 55 miles (89 kilometers) WNW of TER.
• In 1947, the Portuguese Esquadra 41 started to operate from Lajes, equipped with Boeing SB-17, Grumman HU-16 Albatross, Douglas C-54 Skymaster and, later Sikorsky H-19.
• 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 base also supports other NATO and non-NATO armed forces assets crossing the Atlantic for transport, VIP, exercise, relief or humanitarian duties.
• 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 resident Portuguese 711 Squadron "Albatrozes" was deactivated on 30 November 2006.
• 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.
• Lajes Air Base (TER) currently has only 1 runway.

Facts about Helsinki-Malmi Airport (HEM):

• Because of Helsinki-Malmi Airport's relatively low elevation of 57 feet, planes can take off or land at Helsinki-Malmi 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.
• The furthest airport from Helsinki-Malmi Airport (HEM) is Chatham Islands (CHT), which is located 10,992 miles (17,691 kilometers) away in Waitangi, Chatham Islands, New Zealand.
• Helsinki-Malmi Airport handled 50 passengers last year.
• Helsinki-Malmi Airport (HEM) has 2 runways.
• In addition to being known as "Helsinki-Malmi Airport", another name for HEM is "Helsinki-Malmin lentoasemaHelsingfors-Malm flygplats".
• On 25 March 2014, the Finnish government made a framework decision in principle to close down Malmi Airport and hand it over to residential use by the early 2020s.
• For a long time, the City of Helsinki has had plans to close the airport in order to use the area for construction of new residential zones, but this decision had been debated and deferred for many years.
• The closest airport to Helsinki-Malmi Airport (HEM) is Helsinki Airport (HEL), which is located only 5 miles (8 kilometers) NNW of HEM.
• During the war, bigger and heavier aircraft had been developed, and after the war the aircraft industry and commercial aviation business flourished.