Nonstop flight route between Guarulhos (near São Paulo), São Paulo (state), Brazil and Santa Maria, California, United States:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between São Paulo/Guarulhos–Governador André Franco Montoro International Airport (GRU), Guarulhos (near São Paulo), São Paulo (state), Brazil and Santa Maria Public Airport (SMX), Santa Maria, California, United States would travel a Great Circle distance of 6,297 miles (or 10,135 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 São Paulo/Guarulhos–Governador André Franco Montoro 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 São Paulo/Guarulhos–Governador André Franco Montoro 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:

Arrival Airport Information:

Facts about São Paulo/Guarulhos–Governador André Franco Montoro International Airport (GRU):

• In Brazil the airport was ranked first in terms of transported passengers, aircraft operations, and cargo handled in 2012, placing it as the busiest airport in Latin America by passenger traffic.
• In addition to being known as "São Paulo/Guarulhos–Governador André Franco Montoro International Airport", another name for GRU is "Aeroporto Internacional de São Paulo/Guarulhos–Governador André Franco Montoro".
• 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.
• The closest airport to São Paulo/Guarulhos–Governador André Franco Montoro International Airport (GRU) is São Paulo/Congonhas Airport (CGH), which is located only 18 miles (28 kilometers) SW of GRU.
• São Paulo/Guarulhos–Governador André Franco Montoro International Airport handled 36,460,923 passengers last year.
• The airport is located 25 km from downtown São Paulo.
• GRU has two parallel runways.
• São Paulo/Guarulhos–Governador André Franco Montoro International Airport (GRU) has 2 runways.
• Viação Cometa offers daily departures to and from the airport and the cities of Santos, São Vicente, and Praia Grande.
• Central to this investment plan is Terminal 3, which is projected to add 12 million passenger capacity to the 17 million of the existing two terminals.
• The furthest airport from São Paulo/Guarulhos–Governador André Franco Montoro International Airport (GRU) is Minami-Daito Airport (MMD), which is nearly antipodal to São Paulo/Guarulhos–Governador André Franco Montoro International Airport (meaning São Paulo/Guarulhos–Governador André Franco Montoro International Airport is almost on the exact opposite side of the Earth from Minami-Daito Airport), and is located 12,218 miles (19,663 kilometers) away in Minami Daito, Okinawa, Japan.

Facts about Santa Maria Public Airport (SMX):

• 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 is three miles south of Santa Maria, in northern Santa Barbara County, California.
• The first airline to serve Santa Maria was Southwest Airways operating Douglas DC-3 prop aircraft.
• In addition to being known as "Santa Maria Public Airport", another name for SMX is "Capt. G. Allan Hancock FieldSanta Maria Army Airfield".
• The airport was built by the United States Army during World War II, known as Santa Maria Army Air Field.
• Santa Maria Public Airport (SMX) has 2 runways.
• 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 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.
• 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.