Nonstop flight route between Bairnsdale, Victoria, Australia and Santa Maria, Portugal:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Bairnsdale Aerodrome (BSJ), Bairnsdale, Victoria, Australia and Santa Maria Airport (SMA), Santa Maria, Portugal would travel a Great Circle distance of 12,034 miles (or 19,366 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 Bairnsdale Aerodrome and Santa Maria Airport, 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 Bairnsdale Aerodrome and Santa Maria Airport. You'll see that it will travel the same route of the red line on this map!

The distance between BSJ and SMA makes them almost exactly antipodal (the exact opposite side of the world) to each other. Nonstop flights between Bairnsdale Aerodrome and Santa Maria Airport would be very impractical for the airlines, because only a lightly loaded Boeing 777-200LR would be able to make the trip. Since airlines need to be able to take as many people and cargo as possible in order to make a profit, the odds of ever seeing a nonstop flight between BSJ and SMA are slim to none. However, you'll still be able to get from Bairnsdale, Victoria, Australia and Santa Maria, Portugal by taking some connecting flights!

Did you know that one full circling of the Earth (measuring from the equator) is about 24,901.5 miles (or 40,075 kilometers), which means if you were 12,450 miles from any given point on the planet, the distance back to your starting point would be about the same -- in any direction! The same can be said for a nonstop flight between BSJ and SMA!

Departure Airport Information:

Arrival Airport Information:

Facts about Bairnsdale Aerodrome (BSJ):

• Because of Bairnsdale Aerodrome's relatively low elevation of 165 feet, planes can take off or land at Bairnsdale Aerodrome 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.
• Bairnsdale Aerodrome (BSJ) has 2 runways.
• The closest airport to Bairnsdale Aerodrome (BSJ) is Mount Hotham Airport (MHU), which is located 59 miles (96 kilometers) NNW of BSJ.
• The furthest airport from Bairnsdale Aerodrome (BSJ) is Flores Airport (FLW), which is nearly antipodal to Bairnsdale Aerodrome (meaning Bairnsdale Aerodrome is almost on the exact opposite side of the Earth from Flores Airport), and is located 12,308 miles (19,807 kilometers) away in Flores Island, Azores, Portugal.

Facts about Santa Maria Airport (SMA):

• The furthest airport from Santa Maria Airport (SMA) is Moruya Airport (MYA), which is nearly antipodal to Santa Maria Airport (meaning Santa Maria Airport is almost on the exact opposite side of the Earth from Moruya Airport), and is located 12,166 miles (19,579 kilometers) away in Moruya, New South Wales, Australia.
• It was built in the context of the Second World War, by US troops in order to maintain supply lines to Europe, and inaugurated on 26 July 1945.
• Santa Maria Airport (SMA) currently has only 1 runway.
• For a while, Air France's supersonic Concordes were routed to Santa Maria on refueling layovers between Paris and Caracas.
• In addition to being known as "Santa Maria Airport", another name for SMA is "Aeroporto de Santa Maria".
• Because of Santa Maria Airport's relatively low elevation of 308 feet, planes can take off or land at Santa Maria 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 Santa Maria Airport (SMA) is João Paulo II Airport (PDL), which is located 60 miles (97 kilometers) NNW of SMA.
• It has one runway which is 3,048 m × 60 m.
• Santa Maria Airport handled 93,436 passengers last year.
• Along with the airports in Lisbon, Porto, Faro, Flores, Horta, Ponta Delgada and Beja, the airport's concessions to provide support to civil aviation was conceded to ANA Aeroportos de Portugal on 18 December 1998, under provisions of decree 404/98.