Nonstop flight route between Lajes, Azores, Portugal and El Vigía, Venezuela:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Lajes Air Base (TER), Lajes, Azores, Portugal and Juan Pablo Pérez Alfonso Airport (VIG), El Vigía, Venezuela would travel a Great Circle distance of 3,454 miles (or 5,558 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 Juan Pablo Pérez Alfonso 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 Juan Pablo Pérez Alfonso 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 1980, an earthquake measuring 7.0 on the Richter scale struck Terceira Island.
• Lajes Air Base (TER) currently has only 1 runway.
• 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.
• 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 closest airport to Lajes Air Base (TER) is Graciosa Airport (GRW), which is located 55 miles (89 kilometers) WNW of TER.
• 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.
• 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.
• 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 civilian terminal also plays an important role in support of passenger and cargo airliners, executive, corporate and private jets flying to the island or beyond as the central location in the Azores group of islands makes it an ideal spot for refuelling or stopover.

Facts about Juan Pablo Pérez Alfonso Airport (VIG):

• Because of Juan Pablo Pérez Alfonso Airport's relatively low elevation of 249 feet, planes can take off or land at Juan Pablo Pérez Alfonso 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.
• Juan Pablo Pérez Alfonso Airport (VIG) currently has only 1 runway.
• The closest airport to Juan Pablo Pérez Alfonso Airport (VIG) is Miguel Urdaneta Fernández Airport (STB), which is located 30 miles (49 kilometers) NW of VIG.
• The furthest airport from Juan Pablo Pérez Alfonso Airport (VIG) is Tunggul Wulung Airport (CXP), which is nearly antipodal to Juan Pablo Pérez Alfonso Airport (meaning Juan Pablo Pérez Alfonso Airport is almost on the exact opposite side of the Earth from Tunggul Wulung Airport), and is located 12,352 miles (19,879 kilometers) away in Cilacap, Java Island, Indonesia.