Nonstop flight route between Lajes, Azores, Portugal and SeaTac (near Seattle and Tacoma), Washington, United States:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Lajes Air Base (TER), Lajes, Azores, Portugal and Seattle–Tacoma International Airport (SEA), SeaTac (near Seattle and Tacoma), Washington, United States would travel a Great Circle distance of 4,532 miles (or 7,293 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 Seattle–Tacoma 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 Seattle–Tacoma 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):

• On 1 December 1943, British and U.S.
• In the late 1950s, USAF air refueling/tanker aircraft were stationed at Lajes to provide inflight refueling for U.S.
• Lajes Air Base (TER) currently has only 1 runway.
• The Portuguese Air Force continues to operate one SAR squadron Esq.
• 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.
• 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.
• Recently, in August 2010, Portuguese news agencies advised for the termination of the F-22 Raptor plan to use Lajes as a platform for DACT training over the Atlantic Ocean.
• 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.

Facts about Seattle–Tacoma International Airport (SEA):

• The closest airport to Seattle–Tacoma International Airport (SEA) is Renton Municipal Airport (RNT), which is located only 5 miles (9 kilometers) NE of SEA.
• A new control tower was built beginning in 2001 and opened November 2004, at a cost of $26 million.
• A recurring problem at the airport is misidentification of the westernmost taxiway, Taxiway Tango, as a runway.
• After the death of U.S.
• In addition to being known as "Seattle–Tacoma International Airport", another name for SEA is "Sea–Tac Airport".
• In 2013, the airport served over 34.7 million passengers, making it the 15th-busiest airport in the United States.
• Because of Seattle–Tacoma International Airport's relatively low elevation of 433 feet, planes can take off or land at Seattle–Tacoma 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.
• Seattle–Tacoma International Airport (SEA) has 3 runways.
• The airport has a Central Terminal building, which was renovated and expanded in 2003.
• The South Satellite Terminal has reached its maximum capacity for handling international passengers in terms of immigration check stands as well as customs declaration.
• Seattle–Tacoma International Airport handled 34,776,666 passengers last year.
• The furthest airport from Seattle–Tacoma International Airport (SEA) is Tôlanaro Airport (FTU), which is located 10,781 miles (17,350 kilometers) away in Tôlanaro, Madagascar.
• Starting in the late 1980s, the Port of Seattle and a council representing local county governments considered the future of air traffic in the region and predicted that airport could reach capacity by 2000.