Nonstop flight route between Horn Island, Queensland, Australia and Lajes, Azores, Portugal:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Horn Island Airport (HID), Horn Island, Queensland, Australia and Lajes Air Base (TER), Lajes, Azores, Portugal would travel a Great Circle distance of 10,383 miles (or 16,709 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 Horn Island 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 Horn Island 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 Horn Island Airport (HID):

• Because of Horn Island Airport's relatively low elevation of 43 feet, planes can take off or land at Horn Island 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 Horn Island Airport (HID) is Kubin Airport (KUG), which is located 25 miles (41 kilometers) N of HID.
• The furthest airport from Horn Island Airport (HID) is São Filipe Airport (SFL), which is located 11,497 miles (18,503 kilometers) away in Fogo, Cape Verde.
• Horn Island Airport (HID) has 2 runways.

Facts about Lajes Air Base (TER):

• 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.
• The base also supports other NATO and non-NATO armed forces assets crossing the Atlantic for transport, VIP, exercise, relief or humanitarian duties.
• 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.
• 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 1980, an earthquake measuring 7.0 on the Richter scale struck Terceira Island.
• Lajes Field was one of the two stopover and refueling bases for the first transatlantic crossing of non-rigid airships in 1944.
• 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.