Nonstop flight route between Lajes, Azores, Portugal and San Juan, Puerto Rico:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Lajes Air Base (TER), Lajes, Azores, Portugal and Fernando Luis Ribas Dominicci Airport (SIG), San Juan, Puerto Rico would travel a Great Circle distance of 2,721 miles (or 4,379 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 Fernando Luis Ribas Dominicci 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 Fernando Luis Ribas Dominicci 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.
• Despite NATO and non-NATO fighter and transport planes which continue to use Lajes on a regular basis, the US DoD movements are now at an all time low.
• 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.
• 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 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 United States and the United Kingdom transferred control of Lajes to Portugal in 1946.
• In 1949, the North Atlantic Treaty Organization military alliance was established.
• In 1980, an earthquake measuring 7.0 on the Richter scale struck Terceira Island.
• The closest airport to Lajes Air Base (TER) is Graciosa Airport (GRW), which is located 55 miles (89 kilometers) WNW of TER.

Facts about Fernando Luis Ribas Dominicci Airport (SIG):

• A controversy regarding Isla Grande and Dorado Airport surfaced in 2003.
• As per Federal Aviation Administration records, the airport had 13,837 passenger boardings in calendar year 2008, 23,083 enplanements in 2009, and 38,363 in 2010.
• Because of Fernando Luis Ribas Dominicci Airport's relatively low elevation of 9 feet, planes can take off or land at Fernando Luis Ribas Dominicci 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 closest airport to Fernando Luis Ribas Dominicci Airport (SIG) is Luis Muñoz Marín International Airport (SJU), which is located only 6 miles (10 kilometers) E of SIG.
• In addition to being known as "Fernando Luis Ribas Dominicci Airport", another name for SIG is "Isla Grande AirportAeropuerto Isla Grande".
• On August 4, 2011 the FAA announced that they were planning to close the airport's control tower due to budget cuts, since they operate it instead of the Puerto Rico Ports Authority.
• The furthest airport from Fernando Luis Ribas Dominicci Airport (SIG) is Barrow Island Airport (BWB), which is nearly antipodal to Fernando Luis Ribas Dominicci Airport (meaning Fernando Luis Ribas Dominicci Airport is almost on the exact opposite side of the Earth from Barrow Island Airport), and is located 12,244 miles (19,704 kilometers) away in Barrow Island, Western Australia, Australia.
• Fernando Luis Ribas Dominicci Airport (SIG) currently has only 1 runway.