Nonstop flight route between Bishop, California, United States and Île Sainte-Marie, Madagascar:
Departure Airport:

Arrival Airport:

Distance from BIH to SMS:
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- About this route
- BIH Airport Information
- SMS Airport Information
- Facts about BIH
- Facts about SMS
- Map of Nearest Airports to BIH
- List of Nearest Airports to BIH
- Map of Furthest Airports from BIH
- List of Furthest Airports from BIH
- Map of Nearest Airports to SMS
- List of Nearest Airports to SMS
- Map of Furthest Airports from SMS
- List of Furthest Airports from SMS
About this route:
A direct, nonstop flight between Eastern Sierra Regional AirportBishop Army Airfield (BIH), Bishop, California, United States and Sainte Marie Airport (SMS), Île Sainte-Marie, Madagascar would travel a Great Circle distance of 10,862 miles (or 17,481 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 Eastern Sierra Regional AirportBishop Army Airfield and Sainte Marie 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 Eastern Sierra Regional AirportBishop Army Airfield and Sainte Marie Airport. You'll see that it will travel the same route of the red line on this map!
Departure Airport Information:
IATA / ICAO Codes: | BIH / KBIH |
Airport Name: | Eastern Sierra Regional AirportBishop Army Airfield |
Location: | Bishop, California, United States |
GPS Coordinates: | 37°22'23"N by 118°21'48"W |
Area Served: | Bishop, California |
Operator/Owner: | City of Los Angeles Department of Public Works |
Airport Type: | Public |
Elevation: | 4124 feet (1,257 meters) |
# of Runways: | 3 |
View all routes: | Routes from BIH |
More Information: | BIH Maps & Info |
Arrival Airport Information:
IATA / ICAO Codes: | SMS / FMMS |
Airport Name: | Sainte Marie Airport |
Location: | Île Sainte-Marie, Madagascar |
GPS Coordinates: | 17°5'38"S by 49°48'56"E |
Area Served: | Sainte Marie, Analanjirofo, Madagascar |
Airport Type: | Public |
Elevation: | 7 feet (2 meters) |
# of Runways: | 1 |
View all routes: | Routes from SMS |
More Information: | SMS Maps & Info |
Facts about Eastern Sierra Regional AirportBishop Army Airfield (BIH):
- Eastern Sierra Regional AirportBishop Army Airfield (BIH) has 3 runways.
- The furthest airport from Eastern Sierra Regional AirportBishop Army Airfield (BIH) is Pierrefonds Airport (ZSE), which is located 11,267 miles (18,133 kilometers) away in Saint-Pierre, Réunion.
- The closest airport to Eastern Sierra Regional AirportBishop Army Airfield (BIH) is Mammoth Yosemite Airport (MMH), which is located 31 miles (50 kilometers) NW of BIH.
- After the end of World War II, Bishop AAF was turned over to Air Technical Service Command as a storage airfield.
- The airfield opened in April 1940 on 897.22 acres subleased from Inyo County.
- Because of Eastern Sierra Regional AirportBishop Army Airfield's high elevation of 4,124 feet, planes must typically fly at a faster airspeed in order to takeoff or land at BIH. Combined with a high temperature, this could make BIH a "Hot & High" airport, where the air density is lower than it would otherwise be at sea level.
Facts about Sainte Marie Airport (SMS):
- Sainte Marie Airport (SMS) currently has only 1 runway.
- The furthest airport from Sainte Marie Airport (SMS) is Guerrero Negro Airport (GUB), which is located 11,161 miles (17,962 kilometers) away in Guerrero Negro, Baja California Sur, Mexico.
- Because of Sainte Marie Airport's relatively low elevation of 7 feet, planes can take off or land at Sainte Marie 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 Sainte Marie Airport (SMS) is Toamasino Airport (TMM), which is located 76 miles (122 kilometers) SSW of SMS.