Nonstop flight route between Eilat, Israel and Santa Maria, California, United States:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Eilat Airport (ETH), Eilat, Israel and Santa Maria Public Airport (SMX), Santa Maria, California, United States would travel a Great Circle distance of 7,704 miles (or 12,398 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 Eilat 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 Eilat 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 Eilat Airport (ETH):

• The furthest airport from Eilat Airport (ETH) is Rurutu Airport (RUR), which is located 11,807 miles (19,002 kilometers) away in Rurutu, French Polynesia.
• The closest airport to Eilat Airport (ETH) is King Hussein International Airport (AQJ), which is located only 5 miles (8 kilometers) NE of ETH.
• In August 2005, a Katyusha rocket fired from Jordan landed near a taxi traveling just 15 yards from the airport perimeter fence.
• Although the airport is capable of handling Boeing 767 aircraft, for large numbers of these aircraft, significant investment would be needed.
• Since the beginning of the 1990s the authorities in Eilat have considered relocating the airport, approximately 20 km north of Eilat, to the Ora Well area near Be'er Ora.
• Eilat Airport (ETH) currently has only 1 runway.
• In addition to being known as "Eilat Airport", other names for ETH include "J. Hozman Airport" and "שְׂדֵה הַתְּעוּפָה אֵילַת".
• Because of Eilat Airport's relatively low elevation of 42 feet, planes can take off or land at Eilat 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 airport is expected to cease civilian operations by 2017 when Eilat's new international airport, Timna Airport, should become operational.

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".
• The extended primary runway at Santa Maria is paved to 8,004 feet, giving the airport the longest civil runway between Los Angeles and San Francisco on the central coast and Vandenberg AFB's runway are longer).
• Santa Maria Public Airport (SMX) has 2 runways.
• Other enhancements include a new passenger terminal holding room that opened February 2008.
• 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.
• The airport was built by the United States Army during World War II, known as Santa Maria Army Air Field.
• 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.
• 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.