Nonstop flight route between Edmonton, Alberta, Canada and Lajes, Azores, Portugal:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between CFB Edmonton (YED), Edmonton, Alberta, Canada and Lajes Air Base (TER), Lajes, Azores, Portugal would travel a Great Circle distance of 3,991 miles (or 6,423 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 CFB Edmonton 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 CFB Edmonton 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 CFB Edmonton (YED):

• In addition to being known as "CFB Edmonton", other names for YED include "Edmonton/Namao Heliport Edmonton Garrison" and "Steele Barracks".
• During the Cold War RCAF Station Namao was used by the United States Strategic Air Command, which constructed a "Nose Dock" capable of servicing the nose and wings of heavy jet bombers and tankers on the south side of the airfield.
• The furthest airport from CFB Edmonton (YED) is Tôlanaro Airport (FTU), which is located 10,216 miles (16,441 kilometers) away in Tôlanaro, Madagascar.
• During the war the airfield became a staging point for the US defence of Alaska and was heavily used by the US military.
• The closest airport to CFB Edmonton (YED) is Edmonton International Airport (YEG), which is located 25 miles (41 kilometers) S of YED.
• The history of CFB Edmonton begins at an old airfield called Blatchford Field, a few kilometres south from where CFB Edmonton would eventually be established.
• The 3rd Battalion, Princess Patricia's Canadian Light Infantry, along with elements of Lord Strathcona's Horse and 1 Combat Engineer Regiment were chosen to be a part of Canada's military response to the September 11, 2001 attacks and were deployed on combat operations to Afghanistan in 2001 and 2002.

Facts about Lajes Air Base (TER):

• The United States and the United Kingdom transferred control of Lajes to Portugal in 1946.
• Lajes Air Base (TER) currently has only 1 runway.
• 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 closest airport to Lajes Air Base (TER) is Graciosa Airport (GRW), which is located 55 miles (89 kilometers) WNW of TER.
• 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.
• Lajes provides support to 15,000 aircraft, including fighters from the US and 20 other allied nations each.
• Another important Cold War operation at Lajes was the U.S.
• 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.
• 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".
• 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.