Nonstop flight route between Fort Wainwright, Alaska, United States and Santa Maria, California, United States:
Departure Airport:

Arrival Airport:

Distance from AIN to SMX:
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- About this route
- AIN Airport Information
- SMX Airport Information
- Facts about AIN
- Facts about SMX
- Map of Nearest Airports to AIN
- List of Nearest Airports to AIN
- Map of Furthest Airports from AIN
- List of Furthest Airports from AIN
- Map of Nearest Airports to SMX
- List of Nearest Airports to SMX
- Map of Furthest Airports from SMX
- List of Furthest Airports from SMX
About this route:
A direct, nonstop flight between Wainwright Airport (AIN), Fort Wainwright, Alaska, United States and Santa Maria Public Airport (SMX), Santa Maria, California, United States would travel a Great Circle distance of 2,864 miles (or 4,610 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 Wainwright Airport and Santa Maria Public 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 Wainwright Airport and Santa Maria Public Airport. You'll see that it will travel the same route of the red line on this map!
Departure Airport Information:
IATA / ICAO Codes: | AIN / PAWI |
Airport Names: |
|
Location: | Fort Wainwright, Alaska, United States |
GPS Coordinates: | 70°38'17"N by 159°59'40"W |
Area Served: | Wainwright, Alaska |
Operator/Owner: | North Slope Borough |
Airport Type: | Public |
Elevation: | 45 feet (14 meters) |
# of Runways: | 1 |
View all routes: | Routes from AIN |
More Information: | AIN Maps & Info |
Arrival Airport Information:
IATA / ICAO Codes: | SMX / KSMX |
Airport Names: |
|
Location: | Santa Maria, California, United States |
GPS Coordinates: | 34°53'56"N by 120°27'26"W |
Area Served: | Santa Maria, California |
Operator/Owner: | Santa Maria Public Airport District |
Airport Type: | Public |
Elevation: | 261 feet (80 meters) |
# of Runways: | 2 |
View all routes: | Routes from SMX |
More Information: | SMX Maps & Info |
Facts about Wainwright Airport (AIN):
- Because of Wainwright Airport's relatively low elevation of 45 feet, planes can take off or land at Wainwright 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 LRR site was inactivated in 2007 due to soil erosion and budget concerns.
- In addition to being known as "Wainwright Airport", another name for AIN is "AWI".
- Wainwright Airport (AIN) currently has only 1 runway.
- The closest airport to Wainwright Airport (AIN) is Atqasuk Edward Burnell Sr. Memorial Airport (ATK), which is located 60 miles (97 kilometers) E of AIN.
- The furthest airport from Wainwright Airport (AIN) is Teniente Rodolfo Marsh Airport (TNM), which is located 10,348 miles (16,654 kilometers) away in Villa Las Estrellas, Antarctica.
- Wainwright Airport resides at elevation of 45 feet above mean sea level.
Facts about Santa Maria Public Airport (SMX):
- Because of Santa Maria Public Airport's relatively low elevation of 261 feet, planes can take off or land at Santa Maria Public 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.
- A runway extension opened on May 3, 2012, from 6,304 ft.
- In addition to being known as "Santa Maria Public Airport", another name for SMX is "Capt. G. Allan Hancock FieldSanta Maria Army Airfield".
- Besides the current Allegiant jet service, SkyWest Airlines operating as United Express via a code sharing agreement with United Airlines flies Embraer EMB-120 Brasilia turboprops and sometimes Bombardier CRJ-200 Regional Jet nonstop to Los Angeles that served the airport for many years.
- The closest airport to Santa Maria Public Airport (SMX) is Vandenberg Air Force Base (VBG), which is located only 13 miles (21 kilometers) SSW of SMX.
- Santa Maria Public Airport (SMX) has 2 runways.
- The furthest airport from Santa Maria Public Airport (SMX) is Pierrefonds Airport (ZSE), which is located 11,466 miles (18,453 kilometers) away in Saint-Pierre, Réunion.
- The first airline to serve Santa Maria was Southwest Airways operating Douglas DC-3 prop aircraft.