Nonstop flight route between Alamogordo, New Mexico, United States and Santa Maria, Portugal:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Holloman Air Force Base Alamogordo Army Airfield (HMN), Alamogordo, New Mexico, United States and Santa Maria Airport (SMA), Santa Maria, Portugal would travel a Great Circle distance of 4,450 miles (or 7,161 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 Holloman Air Force Base Alamogordo Army Airfield and Santa Maria 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 Holloman Air Force Base Alamogordo Army Airfield and Santa Maria 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 Holloman Air Force Base Alamogordo Army Airfield (HMN):

• The furthest airport from Holloman Air Force Base Alamogordo Army Airfield (HMN) is Sir Gaëtan Duval Airport (RRG), which is located 11,323 miles (18,222 kilometers) away in Rodrigues Island, Mauritius.
• Along with the 49th FW, the 96th Test Group, part of the 96th Test Wing from Eglin Air Force Base, Florida is based at Holloman.
• As of November 2006 there are 650 German military personnel and 25 Tornado aircraft assigned to Holloman AFB.
• In addition to being known as "Holloman Air Force Base Alamogordo Army Airfield", another name for HMN is "Holloman AFB".
• Alamogordo Army Air Field was named on 21 November as a Second Air Force installation equipped with aprons, runways, taxiways and hangars.
• By offering NATO allies the benefits of available space at Holloman as well as the use of the Southwest's excellent flying weather, the U.S.
• The closest airport to Holloman Air Force Base Alamogordo Army Airfield (HMN) is Alamogordo–White Sands Regional Airport (ALM), which is located only 7 miles (11 kilometers) E of HMN.
• The Holloman Air Development Center became the base operating unit on 10 October 1952, and the 3,500 ft rocket-powered sled was first run on 19 March 1954.
• The QF-106s began operating as a Full-Scale Aerial Target in late 1991 at White Sands Missile Range New Mexico, and later at the Eglin Gulf Test Range in Florida.
• In March 2013, it was announced that German Air Force units at Fort Bliss will transfer to Holloman later that same year.

Facts about Santa Maria Airport (SMA):

• A chartered Boeing 707-300, Independent Air Flight 1851 from Bergamo, Italy in 1989 crashed on approach to Santa Maria Airport, when it struck the Pico Alto mountain.
• In addition to being known as "Santa Maria Airport", another name for SMA is "Aeroporto de Santa Maria".
• Santa Maria Airport is an airport located 5 km west northwest of the urbanized area of Vila do Porto on the Portuguese island of Santa Maria, in the autonomous region of the Azores.
• Santa Maria Airport handled 93,436 passengers last year.
• The airport at Santa Maria was part of a larger complex of buildings and infrastructures constructed in the 20th century.
• The furthest airport from Santa Maria Airport (SMA) is Moruya Airport (MYA), which is nearly antipodal to Santa Maria Airport (meaning Santa Maria Airport is almost on the exact opposite side of the Earth from Moruya Airport), and is located 12,166 miles (19,579 kilometers) away in Moruya, New South Wales, Australia.
• Santa Maria Airport (SMA) currently has only 1 runway.
• The closest airport to Santa Maria Airport (SMA) is João Paulo II Airport (PDL), which is located 60 miles (97 kilometers) NNW of SMA.
• Because of Santa Maria Airport's relatively low elevation of 308 feet, planes can take off or land at Santa Maria 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.