Nonstop flight route between Chelinda, Malawi and Santa Maria, California, United States:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Chelinda Airport (CEH), Chelinda, Malawi and Santa Maria Public Airport (SMX), Santa Maria, California, United States would travel a Great Circle distance of 10,102 miles (or 16,258 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 Chelinda 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 Chelinda 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:

Arrival Airport Information:

Facts about Chelinda Airport (CEH):

• Because of Chelinda Airport's high elevation of 7,759 feet, planes must typically fly at a faster airspeed in order to takeoff or land at CEH. Combined with a high temperature, this could make CEH a "Hot & High" airport, where the air density is lower than it would otherwise be at sea level.
• The furthest airport from Chelinda Airport (CEH) is Hilo International Airport (ITO), which is located 11,572 miles (18,623 kilometers) away in Hilo, Hawaii, United States.
• Chelinda Airport (CEH) currently has only 1 runway.
• The closest airport to Chelinda Airport (CEH) is Karonga Airport (KGJ), which is located 42 miles (68 kilometers) N of CEH.

Facts about Santa Maria Public Airport (SMX):

• During its use by the military Santa Maria AAF also controlled Estrella Army Airfield, near Paso Robles as an auxiliary airfield to support the pilot training activity.
• A 4,000-square-foot baggage claim facility opened in 2007.
• Other enhancements include a new passenger terminal holding room that opened February 2008.
• In addition to being known as "Santa Maria Public Airport", another name for SMX is "Capt. G. Allan Hancock FieldSanta Maria Army Airfield".
• 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.
• 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.
• After the war Santa Barbara County and the city of Santa Maria acquired the land and facilities through two grants in 1948.
• 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.
• At one point during the early 1980's Swift Aire Lines, which was based at the nearby San Luis Obispo Airport, was the only airline flying nonstop between Santa Maria and Los Angeles, primarily with Fokker F27 Friendship turboprops which the carrier had purchased new from the manufacturer.
• Santa Maria Public Airport (SMX) has 2 runways.
• The first airline to serve Santa Maria was Southwest Airways operating Douglas DC-3 prop aircraft.