Nonstop flight route between Varna, Bulgaria and Lajes, Azores, Portugal:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Varna Airport Aksakovo (VAR), Varna, Bulgaria and Lajes Air Base (TER), Lajes, Azores, Portugal would travel a Great Circle distance of 2,829 miles (or 4,552 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 Varna Airport Aksakovo and Lajes Air Base, 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 Varna Airport Aksakovo and Lajes Air Base. 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 Varna Airport Aksakovo (VAR):

• The closest airport to Varna Airport Aksakovo (VAR) is Burgas Airport (BOJ), which is located 48 miles (78 kilometers) SSW of VAR.
• The furthest airport from Varna Airport Aksakovo (VAR) is Chatham Islands (CHT), which is located 11,224 miles (18,063 kilometers) away in Waitangi, Chatham Islands, New Zealand.
• Varna Airport Aksakovo (VAR) currently has only 1 runway.
• On 24 May 2013, Air VIA flight 502 from Leipzig to Varna overshot the runway at Varna Airport after touchdown.
• Varna Airport Aksakovo handled 132,000 passengers last year.
• In 2012, the airport handled 1,211,196 passengers, a 4.1% increase compared to 1,163,884 handled in 2011.
• Because of Varna Airport Aksakovo's relatively low elevation of 230 feet, planes can take off or land at Varna Airport Aksakovo 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 Airport Bus stop to Varna and nearby resorts is located just outside Terminal 2.
• In addition to being known as "Varna Airport Aksakovo", another name for VAR is "Летище Варна Аксаково".

Facts about Lajes Air Base (TER):

• Lajes provides support to 15,000 aircraft, including fighters from the US and 20 other allied nations each.
• The Portuguese Air Force continues to operate one SAR squadron Esq.
• 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.
• Lajes Field also played a crucial role in Cold War politics.
• The United States and the United Kingdom transferred control of Lajes to Portugal in 1946.
• 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.
• 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 Air Base (TER) currently has only 1 runway.