Nonstop flight route between Biloxi, Mississippi, United States and Santa Maria, Portugal:
Departure Airport:
Arrival Airport:
Distance from BIX to SMA:
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- About this route
- BIX Airport Information
- SMA Airport Information
- Facts about BIX
- Facts about SMA
- Map of Nearest Airports to BIX
- List of Nearest Airports to BIX
- Map of Furthest Airports from BIX
- List of Furthest Airports from BIX
- Map of Nearest Airports to SMA
- List of Nearest Airports to SMA
- Map of Furthest Airports from SMA
- List of Furthest Airports from SMA
About this route:
A direct, nonstop flight between Keesler Air Force Base (BIX), Biloxi, Mississippi, United States and Santa Maria Airport (SMA), Santa Maria, Portugal would travel a Great Circle distance of 3,625 miles (or 5,834 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 Keesler Air Force Base 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 Keesler Air Force Base and Santa Maria Airport. You'll see that it will travel the same route of the red line on this map!
Departure Airport Information:
| IATA / ICAO Codes: | BIX / KBIX |
| Airport Names: |
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| Location: | Biloxi, Mississippi, United States |
| GPS Coordinates: | 30°24'41"N by 88°55'24"W |
| View all routes: | Routes from BIX |
| More Information: | BIX Maps & Info |
Arrival Airport Information:
| IATA / ICAO Codes: | SMA / LPAZ |
| Airport Names: |
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| Location: | Santa Maria, Portugal |
| GPS Coordinates: | 36°58'26"N by 25°10'15"W |
| Area Served: | Vila do Porto |
| Operator/Owner: | Government of Portugal |
| Airport Type: | Public |
| Elevation: | 308 feet (94 meters) |
| # of Runways: | 1 |
| View all routes: | Routes from SMA |
| More Information: | SMA Maps & Info |
Facts about Keesler Air Force Base (BIX):
- The closest airport to Keesler Air Force Base (BIX) is Gulfport–Biloxi International Airport (GPT), which is located only 9 miles (14 kilometers) W of BIX.
- By September 1944, the number of recruits had dropped, but the workload remained constant, as Keesler personnel began processing veteran ground troops and combat crews who had returned from duty overseas for additional training and follow on assignments.
- Driven by deep defense budget cuts, base closures following the end of the Cold War forced an end to technical training at Chanute Air Force Base, Illinois and Lowry Air Force Base, Colorado when those bases were closed by BRAC action.
- In addition to being known as "Keesler Air Force Base", another name for BIX is "Keesler AFB".
- Finally, Keesler is also home to CNATTU Keesler, a training unit for Navy and Marine Corps enlisted personnel receiving training at Keesler, such as enlisted meteorology training, with their Air Force counterparts.
- In early January 1941, Biloxi city officials assembled a formal offer to invite the United States Army to build a base to support the World War II training buildup.
- The furthest airport from Keesler Air Force Base (BIX) is Cocos (Keeling) Island Airport (CCK), which is located 11,125 miles (17,904 kilometers) away in Cocos Islands, Australia.
Facts about Santa Maria Airport (SMA):
- Santa Maria Airport handled 93,436 passengers last year.
- Santa Maria Airport (SMA) currently has only 1 runway.
- 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.
- Transportes Aéreos Portugueses began lay-over flights to this airport on 7 December 1962, eventually inaugurating trans-Atlantic service between Santa Maria-New York and Santa Maria-Montreal.
- 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.
- A chartered Boeing 707-300, Independent Air Flight 1851 from Bergamo, Italy in 1989 crashed on approach to Santa Maria Airport, when it struck the Pico Alto mountain.
- The closest airport to Santa Maria Airport (SMA) is João Paulo II Airport (PDL), which is located 60 miles (97 kilometers) NNW of SMA.
- In addition to being known as "Santa Maria Airport", another name for SMA is "Aeroporto de Santa Maria".
- 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.
