Nonstop flight route between El Monte, California, United States and Lajes, Azores, Portugal:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between San Gabriel Valley (El Monte) Airport (EMT), El Monte, California, United States and Lajes Air Base (TER), Lajes, Azores, Portugal would travel a Great Circle distance of 4,844 miles (or 7,796 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 San Gabriel Valley (El Monte) Airport 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 San Gabriel Valley (El Monte) Airport 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 San Gabriel Valley (El Monte) Airport (EMT):

• San Gabriel Valley (El Monte) Airport (EMT) currently has only 1 runway.
• The closest airport to San Gabriel Valley (El Monte) Airport (EMT) is Brackett Field (POC), which is located only 14 miles (23 kilometers) E of EMT.
• Because of San Gabriel Valley (El Monte) Airport's relatively low elevation of 296 feet, planes can take off or land at San Gabriel Valley (El Monte) 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 furthest airport from San Gabriel Valley (El Monte) Airport (EMT) is Pierrefonds Airport (ZSE), which is located 11,469 miles (18,458 kilometers) away in Saint-Pierre, Réunion.

Facts about Lajes Air Base (TER):

• 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.
• 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".
• Another important Cold War operation at Lajes was the U.S.
• In 1949, the North Atlantic Treaty Organization military alliance was established.
• 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.
• Lajes Air Base (TER) currently has only 1 runway.
• 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 Portuguese Air Force continues to operate one SAR squadron Esq.
• Base Aérea das LajesBase Aérea Nº 4Aeroporto das Lajes
• Today, Lajes continues to support transiting aircraft.