Nonstop flight route between Rio de Janeiro, Brazil and Santa Maria, California, United States:
Departure Airport:

Arrival Airport:

Distance from GIG to SMX:
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- About this route
- GIG Airport Information
- SMX Airport Information
- Facts about GIG
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- Map of Furthest Airports from GIG
- List of Furthest Airports from GIG
- Map of Nearest Airports to SMX
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- List of Furthest Airports from SMX
About this route:
A direct, nonstop flight between Rio de Janeiro/Galeão–Antonio Carlos Jobim International Airport (GIG), Rio de Janeiro, Brazil and Santa Maria Public Airport (SMX), Santa Maria, California, United States would travel a Great Circle distance of 6,434 miles (or 10,354 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 Rio de Janeiro/Galeão–Antonio Carlos Jobim International 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 Rio de Janeiro/Galeão–Antonio Carlos Jobim International 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:
IATA / ICAO Codes: | GIG / SBGL |
Airport Names: |
|
Location: | Rio de Janeiro, Brazil |
GPS Coordinates: | 22°48'35"S by 43°15'2"W |
Area Served: | Rio de Janeiro |
Operator/Owner: | Aeroporto Rio de Janeiro and Infraero |
Airport Type: | Public/Military |
Elevation: | 28 feet (9 meters) |
# of Runways: | 2 |
View all routes: | Routes from GIG |
More Information: | GIG Maps & Info |
Arrival Airport Information:
IATA / ICAO Codes: | SMX / KSMX |
Airport Names: |
|
Location: | Santa Maria, California, United States |
GPS Coordinates: | 34°53'56"N by 120°27'26"W |
Area Served: | Santa Maria, California |
Operator/Owner: | Santa Maria Public Airport District |
Airport Type: | Public |
Elevation: | 261 feet (80 meters) |
# of Runways: | 2 |
View all routes: | Routes from SMX |
More Information: | SMX Maps & Info |
Facts about Rio de Janeiro/Galeão–Antonio Carlos Jobim International Airport (GIG):
- Because of Rio de Janeiro/Galeão–Antonio Carlos Jobim International Airport's relatively low elevation of 28 feet, planes can take off or land at Rio de Janeiro/Galeão–Antonio Carlos Jobim 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.
- In 1985 the airport lost the title of the country's major international airport to São Paulo-Guarulhos International Airport.
- At the end of the war, Santos Dumont Airport was unable to handle the increased tonnage of aircraft flying on international routes and number of passengers.
- The closest airport to Rio de Janeiro/Galeão–Antonio Carlos Jobim International Airport (GIG) is Santos Dumont Airport (SDU), which is located only 9 miles (14 kilometers) SE of GIG.
- Rio de Janeiro/Galeão–Antonio Carlos Jobim International Airport handled 17,115,368 passengers last year.
- In addition to being known as "Rio de Janeiro/Galeão–Antonio Carlos Jobim International Airport", another name for GIG is "Aeroporto Internacional do Rio de Janeiro/Galeão–Antonio Carlos Jobim".
- Viação 1001 operates bus 761-D from the airport to Niterói.
- Rio de Janeiro/Galeão–Antonio Carlos Jobim International Airport (GIG) has 2 runways.
- The furthest airport from Rio de Janeiro/Galeão–Antonio Carlos Jobim International Airport (GIG) is Central Field (Iwo Jima)Motoyama No. 2Airfield No. 2 (IWO), which is nearly antipodal to Rio de Janeiro/Galeão–Antonio Carlos Jobim International Airport (meaning Rio de Janeiro/Galeão–Antonio Carlos Jobim International Airport is almost on the exact opposite side of the Earth from Central Field (Iwo Jima)Motoyama No. 2Airfield No. 2), and is located 12,117 miles (19,500 kilometers) away in Iwo Jima, Bonin Islands, Japan.
- On June 6, 1967 in response the growth of the air traffic in Brazil, the Brazilian military government initiated studies concerning the renovation of the airport infrastructure in Brazil.
- Presently section A of Terminal 1 is under renovation.
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.
- 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.
- 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.
- 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".
- Santa Maria Public Airport (SMX) has 2 runways.