Nonstop flight route between Lajes, Azores, Portugal and Beijing, People's Republic of China:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Lajes Air Base (TER), Lajes, Azores, Portugal and Beijing Capital International Airport (PEK), Beijing, People's Republic of China would travel a Great Circle distance of 6,526 miles (or 10,502 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 Beijing Capital 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 Beijing Capital 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):

• Portugal has explored contingencies in the event the United States military eventually abandons Lajes, including the possibility of entering an agreement with the People's Republic of China.
• 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.
• 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.
• Lajes Field also played a crucial role in Cold War politics.
• 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 closest airport to Lajes Air Base (TER) is Graciosa Airport (GRW), which is located 55 miles (89 kilometers) WNW of TER.
• Another important Cold War operation at Lajes was the U.S.
• 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 World War II, the designation of the airfield was changed to Air Base No.4 and the Portuguese government expanded the runway, sending troops and equipment to Terceira, including Gloster Gladiator fighters.
• Lajes Air Base (TER) currently has only 1 runway.
• 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 Beijing Capital International Airport (PEK):

• In addition to food and beverage businesses, there is a 16,200 m2 domestic retail area, a 12,600 m2 duty-free-store area and a nearly 7,200 m2 convenience-service area, which includes banks, business centres, Internet services and more.
• Beijing Capital International Airport (PEK) has 3 runways.
• Beijing Capital International Airport handled 83,712,355 passengers last year.
• Terminal 3 was designed by a consortium of NACO, UK Architect Foster and Partners and ARUP.
• The closest airport to Beijing Capital International Airport (PEK) is Beijing Nanyuan Airport (NAY), which is located 23 miles (37 kilometers) SSW of PEK.
• A 98.3 m monitoring tower stands at the southern end of T3, the highest building at the airport.
• One of Terminal 3's highlights is the US$240 million luggage-transfer system.
• Beijing Airport was opened on 2 March 1958.
• The furthest airport from Beijing Capital International Airport (PEK) is Gobernador Edgardo Castello Airport (VDM), which is nearly antipodal to Beijing Capital International Airport (meaning Beijing Capital International Airport is almost on the exact opposite side of the Earth from Gobernador Edgardo Castello Airport), and is located 12,378 miles (19,920 kilometers) away in Viedma, Argentina.
• Fresh from hosting the 2008 Olympic Games and completion of its new terminal building, Beijing Capital has overtaken Tokyo Haneda to be the busiest airport in Asia based on scheduled seat capacity.
• Because of Beijing Capital International Airport's relatively low elevation of 116 feet, planes can take off or land at Beijing Capital 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.
• In addition to being known as "Beijing Capital International Airport", other names for PEK include "北京首都国际机场" and "Běijīng Shǒudū Guójì Jīchǎng".