Nonstop flight route between Gaithersburg, Maryland, United States and Santa Barbara, California, United States:
Departure Airport:

Arrival Airport:

Distance from GAI to SBA:
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- About this route
- GAI Airport Information
- SBA Airport Information
- Facts about GAI
- Facts about SBA
- Map of Nearest Airports to GAI
- List of Nearest Airports to GAI
- Map of Furthest Airports from GAI
- List of Furthest Airports from GAI
- 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 Montgomery County Airpark (GAI), Gaithersburg, Maryland, United States and Santa Barbara Airport (SBA), Santa Barbara, California, United States would travel a Great Circle distance of 2,362 miles (or 3,801 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 Montgomery County Airpark 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: | GAI / KGAI |
Airport Name: | Montgomery County Airpark |
Location: | Gaithersburg, Maryland, United States |
GPS Coordinates: | 39°10'5"N by 77°9'57"W |
Operator/Owner: | Montgomery County Revenue Authority |
Airport Type: | Public |
Elevation: | 539 feet (164 meters) |
# of Runways: | 1 |
View all routes: | Routes from GAI |
More Information: | GAI 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 Montgomery County Airpark (GAI):
- Because of Montgomery County Airpark's relatively low elevation of 539 feet, planes can take off or land at Montgomery County Airpark 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 furthest airport from Montgomery County Airpark (GAI) is Margaret River Airport (MGV), which is located 11,667 miles (18,776 kilometers) away in Margaret River, Western Australia, Australia.
- Montgomery County Airpark (GAI) currently has only 1 runway.
- The closest airport to Montgomery County Airpark (GAI) is College Park Airport (CGS), which is located only 18 miles (30 kilometers) SE of GAI.
Facts about Santa Barbara Airport (SBA):
- With the outbreak of WWII the airport became MCAS Santa Barbara in 1942, an aviator training base for the U.S Marines.
- The largest passenger jet currently serving Santa Barbara is the Airbus A319 operated by Frontier Airlines nonstop to Denver.
- Santa Barbara Airport (SBA) has 3 runways.
- On August 18, 2011 the airport opened a new 72,000 square foot terminal to add to the single story terminal built by United Airlines in 1942.
- 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.
- The closest airport to Santa Barbara Airport (SBA) is Santa Ynez Airport (SQA), which is located only 18 miles (29 kilometers) NW of 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.
- Airline flights began in 1932 on Pacific Seaboard Airlines.
- As airplane manufacturing grew in the late 1930s that airstrip developed into an airfield.