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):
- 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 (FAI) has 4 runways.
- The closest airport to Fairbanks International Airport (FAI) is Ladd Army Airfield (FBK), which is located only 7 miles (12 kilometers) ENE of FAI.
- 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.
- Pan Am eventually used Fairbanks as a stopover for transpacific service from New York and Seattle to Tokyo starting in September 1969.
- 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.
Facts about Santa Barbara Airport (SBA):
- 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.
- The closest airport to Santa Barbara Airport (SBA) is Santa Ynez Airport (SQA), which is located only 18 miles (29 kilometers) NW of SBA.
- Airline flights began in 1932 on Pacific Seaboard Airlines.
- 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.
- Until 2002 Santa Barbara Airport was on a mainline jet aircraft route between San Francisco and Los Angeles.
- There are two fixed based operators on the field, Signature Flight Support and Atlantic Aviation, and three flight schools, Above All Aviation, Red Baron Aviation, and Spitfire Aviation.
- Five airlines serve the Airport as of July 2013 with non-stop flights to Denver, Los Angeles, Phoenix, Portland, San Francisco, Seattle/Tacoma.
- In the 1951 war film Flying Leathernecks, John Wayne's character was stationed in Goleta.
- Santa Barbara Airport (SBA) has 3 runways.
- 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.