Nonstop flight route between Sugawa, Fukushima, Japan and Santa Maria, California, United States:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Fukushima Airport (FKS), Sugawa, Fukushima, Japan and Santa Maria Public Airport (SMX), Santa Maria, California, United States would travel a Great Circle distance of 5,248 miles (or 8,446 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 Fukushima 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 Fukushima 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 Fukushima Airport (FKS):

• In addition to being known as "Fukushima Airport", other names for FKS include "福島空港" and "Fukushima Kūkō".
• The closest airport to Fukushima Airport (FKS) is Utsunomiya Air Field (QUT), which is located 58 miles (94 kilometers) SSW of FKS.
• The last episode of the TV drama Crying Out Love, In the Center of the World was filmed at Fukushima Airport in 2004.
• Fukushima Airport (FKS) currently has only 1 runway.
• The furthest airport from Fukushima Airport (FKS) is Rio Grande Regional Airport (RIG), which is located 11,639 miles (18,731 kilometers) away in Rio Grande, Brazil.
• The airport remained operational during and following the 2011 Tōhoku earthquake and tsunami and Fukushima Daiichi nuclear disaster in March 2011, and temporarily saw increased domestic service during the closure of the Tōhoku Shinkansen high-speed rail line to Tokyo.

Facts about Santa Maria Public Airport (SMX):

• A 4,000-square-foot baggage claim facility opened in 2007.
• 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 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).
• In addition to being known as "Santa Maria Public Airport", another name for SMX is "Capt. G. Allan Hancock FieldSanta Maria Army Airfield".
• 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.
• Santa Maria Public Airport (SMX) has 2 runways.
• 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.