Nonstop flight route between Lajes, Azores, Portugal and Los Angeles, California, United States:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Lajes Air Base (TER), Lajes, Azores, Portugal and Los Angeles International Airport (LAX), Los Angeles, California, United States would travel a Great Circle distance of 4,867 miles (or 7,833 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 Los Angeles International 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 Los Angeles International 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".
• 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.
• Lajes Field was one of the two stopover and refueling bases for the first transatlantic crossing of non-rigid airships in 1944.
• 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.
• During the 1973 Yom Kippur War, Lajes Field also supported U.S.
• 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.
• 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.
• 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.
• Lajes provides support to 15,000 aircraft, including fighters from the US and 20 other allied nations each.
• Lajes Field also played a crucial role in Cold War politics.

Facts about Los Angeles International Airport (LAX):

• The furthest airport from Los Angeles International Airport (LAX) is Pierrefonds Airport (ZSE), which is located 11,487 miles (18,487 kilometers) away in Saint-Pierre, Réunion.
• Because of Los Angeles International Airport's relatively low elevation of 126 feet, planes can take off or land at Los Angeles International 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.
• Los Angeles International Airport (LAX) has 4 runways.
• The airport is a hub for United Airlines, Alaska Airlines, American Airlines, and a focus city for Southwest Airlines, Allegiant Air, Air New Zealand, Qantas, Virgin America and Volaris.
• American Airlines' 707-123s flew the first jet passengers out of LAX to New York in January 1959.
• The closest airport to Los Angeles International Airport (LAX) is Hawthorne Municipal Airport (HHR), which is located only 4 miles (7 kilometers) ESE of LAX.
• In 1958, the architecture firm Pereira & Luckman was contracted to plan the re-design of the airport for the "jet age".
• LAX has nine passenger terminals arranged in the shape of the letter U or a horseshoe.
• Los Angeles International Airport handled 66,667,619 passengers last year.
• In the new terminal area west of Sepulveda Blvd that started opening in 1961, each terminal had a satellite building out in the middle of the tarmac, reached by underground tunnels from the ticketing area.
• In 1981, LAX began a $700 million expansion in preparation for the 1984 Summer Olympics.
• Starting in the mid-1990s, under Mayors Richard Riordan and James Hahn, modernization and expansion plans for LAX were prepared, only to be stymied by a coalition of residents who live near the airport.