Nonstop flight route between Fairbanks, Alaska, United States and Santa Barbara, California, United States:
Departure Airport:
Arrival Airport:
Distance from FAI to SBA:
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- About this route
- FAI Airport Information
- SBA Airport Information
- Facts about FAI
- Facts about SBA
- Map of Nearest Airports to FAI
- List of Nearest Airports to FAI
- Map of Furthest Airports from FAI
- List of Furthest Airports from FAI
- Map of Nearest Airports to SBA
- List of Nearest Airports to SBA
- Map of Furthest Airports from SBA
- List of Furthest Airports from SBA
About this route:
A direct, nonstop flight between Fairbanks International Airport (FAI), Fairbanks, Alaska, United States and Santa Barbara Airport (SBA), Santa Barbara, California, United States would travel a Great Circle distance of 2,402 miles (or 3,866 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 relatively short distance between Fairbanks International Airport and Santa Barbara Airport, the route shown on this map most likely still appears to be a straight line.
Departure Airport Information:
| IATA / ICAO Codes: | FAI / PAFA |
| Airport Name: | Fairbanks International Airport |
| Location: | Fairbanks, Alaska, United States |
| GPS Coordinates: | 64°48'53"N by 147°51'23"W |
| Area Served: | Fairbanks, Alaska |
| Operator/Owner: | State of Alaska DOT&PF |
| Airport Type: | Public |
| Elevation: | 434 feet (132 meters) |
| # of Runways: | 4 |
| View all routes: | Routes from FAI |
| More Information: | FAI Maps & Info |
Arrival Airport Information:
| IATA / ICAO Codes: | SBA / KSBA |
| Airport Name: | Santa Barbara Airport |
| Location: | Santa Barbara, California, United States |
| GPS Coordinates: | 34°25'33"N by 119°50'25"W |
| Area Served: | Santa Barbara, California |
| Operator/Owner: | City of Santa Barbara |
| Airport Type: | Public |
| Elevation: | 10 feet (3 meters) |
| # of Runways: | 3 |
| View all routes: | Routes from SBA |
| More Information: | SBA Maps & Info |
Facts about Fairbanks International Airport (FAI):
- In September 2013 there were two incidents of vehicular trespass onto its taxiway and runways, by users unknowingly following Apple Map's errant directions to Fairbanks International Airport.
- The airport opened in 1951 and took over existing scheduled airline traffic to Fairbanks, which had previously used Ladd Air Force Base.Alaska Airlines used Fairbanks as its main hub in the 1950s, with service to Seattle and Portland as well as intrastate service to Anchorage, Nome and other destinations.
- Fairbanks International Airport (FAI) has 4 runways.
- Pan Am eventually used Fairbanks as a stopover for transpacific service from New York and Seattle to Tokyo starting in September 1969.
- The furthest airport from Fairbanks International Airport (FAI) is Port Elizabeth International Airport (PLZ), which is located 10,289 miles (16,558 kilometers) away in Port Elizabeth, South Africa.
- The closest airport to Fairbanks International Airport (FAI) is Ladd Army Airfield (FBK), which is located only 7 miles (12 kilometers) ENE of FAI.
- Because of Fairbanks International Airport's relatively low elevation of 434 feet, planes can take off or land at Fairbanks International 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.
- Fairbanks International Airport covers an area of 3,470 acres at an elevation of 439 feet above mean sea level.
Facts about Santa Barbara Airport (SBA):
- As the prospect of war escalated the United States Government established a program to construct 250 airports across the country on a cost-sharing basis with local governments.
- Because of Santa Barbara Airport's relatively low elevation of 10 feet, planes can take off or land at Santa Barbara 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.
- Besides American and United, other airlines operating jets from SBA included Pacific Air Lines with Boeing 727-100s to Los Angeles, San Francisco and Monterey, Continental Airlines with nonstop Boeing 737-300s to Denver, Air West with Boeing 727-100s as well as McDonnell Douglas DC-9-10s and DC-9-30s to Los Angeles, San Francisco and other cities, Allegiant Air with McDonnell Douglas MD-80s to Las Vegas, Pacific Express with British Aircraft Corporation BAC One-Elevens to Los Angeles, San Francisco and Bakersfield, Air Wisconsin with British Aerospace BAe 146-200 and BAe 146-300s to Denver, and ExpressJet flying Embraer ERJ-145s nonstop to Sacramento and San Diego.
- The furthest airport from Santa Barbara Airport (SBA) is Pierrefonds Airport (ZSE), which is located 11,487 miles (18,486 kilometers) away in Saint-Pierre, Réunion.
- In the 1980s Apollo Airways, a commuter airline based in Santa Barbara that changed its name to Pacific Coast Airlines, flew Handley Page HP.137 Jetstreams from the airport.
- Santa Barbara Airport (SBA) has 3 runways.
- The closest airport to Santa Barbara Airport (SBA) is Santa Ynez Airport (SQA), which is located only 18 miles (29 kilometers) NW of SBA.
- It is near the University of California, Santa Barbara and the city of Goleta.
- American Airlines started nonstop McDonnell Douglas MD-80s to Dallas Fort-Worth International in 1984, sometimes on a triangle routing of DFW-Burbank-SBA-DFW or DFW-Bakersfield-SBA-DFW.
- As airplane manufacturing grew in the late 1930s that airstrip developed into an airfield.
