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

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Whitsunday Coast Airport (PPP), Proserpine, Queensland, Australia and Lajes Air Base (TER), Lajes, Azores, Portugal would travel a Great Circle distance of 11,148 miles (or 17,941 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 Whitsunday Coast 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 Whitsunday Coast 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 Whitsunday Coast Airport (PPP):

• The furthest airport from Whitsunday Coast Airport (PPP) is Agostinho Neto Airport (NTO), which is located 11,963 miles (19,253 kilometers) away in Ponta do Sol, Santo Antão, Cape Verde.
• In the year ending 30 June 2011 the airport handled 213,619 passengers making it the 27th busiest airport in Australia.
• Plans to build an airfield in Proserpine commenced in 1936, however construction was delayed due to a lack of funding.
• Because of Whitsunday Coast Airport's relatively low elevation of 82 feet, planes can take off or land at Whitsunday Coast 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.
• Recently the Passenger Terminal underwent an upgrade.
• In addition to being known as "Whitsunday Coast Airport", another name for PPP is "Proserpine/Whitsunday Coast Airport".
• The closest airport to Whitsunday Coast Airport (PPP) is Whitsunday Airport (WSY), which is located 20 miles (32 kilometers) NE of PPP.
• In September 2001, the airport suffered heavily from the collapse of Ansett Australia, who at the time were the biggest operators out of Proserpine with direct services to Brisbane, Sydney and Melbourne.
• Whitsunday Coast Airport (PPP) has 2 runways.

Facts about Lajes Air Base (TER):

• 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.
• 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.
• 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 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.
• 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.
• Lajes Air Base (TER) currently has only 1 runway.
• In 1980, an earthquake measuring 7.0 on the Richter scale struck Terceira Island.
• In August 2006, Portuguese news agencies reported that both governments were in discussions for a new agreement that could allow the use of Lajes for the training of a permanent F-22 Raptor squadron.
• 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.