Nonstop flight route between Lajes, Azores, Portugal and Mount Hotham, Victoria, Australia:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Lajes Air Base (TER), Lajes, Azores, Portugal and Mount Hotham Airport (MHU), Mount Hotham, Victoria, Australia would travel a Great Circle distance of 12,111 miles (or 19,490 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 Mount Hotham 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 Mount Hotham Airport. You'll see that it will travel the same route of the red line on this map!

The distance between TER and MHU makes them almost exactly antipodal (the exact opposite side of the world) to each other. Nonstop flights between Lajes Air Base and Mount Hotham Airport would be very impractical for the airlines, because only a lightly loaded Boeing 777-200LR would be able to make the trip. Since airlines need to be able to take as many people and cargo as possible in order to make a profit, the odds of ever seeing a nonstop flight between TER and MHU are slim to none. However, you'll still be able to get from Lajes, Azores, Portugal and Mount Hotham, Victoria, Australia by taking some connecting flights!

Did you know that one full circling of the Earth (measuring from the equator) is about 24,901.5 miles (or 40,075 kilometers), which means if you were 12,450 miles from any given point on the planet, the distance back to your starting point would be about the same -- in any direction! The same can be said for a nonstop flight between TER and MHU!

Departure Airport Information:

Arrival Airport Information:

Facts about Lajes Air Base (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.
• The Portuguese Air Force continues to operate one SAR squadron Esq.
• Lajes Air Base (TER) currently has only 1 runway.
• The closest airport to Lajes Air Base (TER) is Graciosa Airport (GRW), which is located 55 miles (89 kilometers) WNW of TER.
• 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.
• 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".
• 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 United States and the United Kingdom transferred control of Lajes to Portugal in 1946.
• 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.
• Lajes provides support to 15,000 aircraft, including fighters from the US and 20 other allied nations each.

Facts about Mount Hotham Airport (MHU):

• Mount Hotham Airport (MHU) currently has only 1 runway.
• The furthest airport from Mount Hotham Airport (MHU) is Flores Airport (FLW), which is nearly antipodal to Mount Hotham Airport (meaning Mount Hotham Airport is almost on the exact opposite side of the Earth from Flores Airport), and is located 12,251 miles (19,715 kilometers) away in Flores Island, Azores, Portugal.
• Because of Mount Hotham Airport's high elevation of 4,260 feet, planes must typically fly at a faster airspeed in order to takeoff or land at MHU. Combined with a high temperature, this could make MHU a "Hot & High" airport, where the air density is lower than it would otherwise be at sea level.
• On 8 July 2005, a Piper PA-31-350 Navajo Chieftain charter plane crashed into terrain while attempting to make a landing at the airport, killing the pilot and two passengers.
• The closest airport to Mount Hotham Airport (MHU) is Bairnsdale Aerodrome (BSJ), which is located 59 miles (96 kilometers) SSE of MHU.