Nonstop flight route between Houston, Texas, United States and St. Mary's, Alaska, United States:
Departure Airport:
Arrival Airport:
Distance from IWS to KSM:
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- About this route
- IWS Airport Information
- KSM Airport Information
- Facts about IWS
- Facts about KSM
- Map of Nearest Airports to IWS
- List of Nearest Airports to IWS
- Map of Furthest Airports from IWS
- List of Furthest Airports from IWS
- Map of Nearest Airports to KSM
- List of Nearest Airports to KSM
- Map of Furthest Airports from KSM
- List of Furthest Airports from KSM
About this route:
A direct, nonstop flight between West Houston Airport (IWS), Houston, Texas, United States and St. Mary's Airport (KSM), St. Mary's, Alaska, United States would travel a Great Circle distance of 3,701 miles (or 5,955 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 West Houston Airport and St. Mary's 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 West Houston Airport and St. Mary's Airport. You'll see that it will travel the same route of the red line on this map!
Departure Airport Information:
| IATA / ICAO Codes: | IWS / KIWS |
| Airport Name: | West Houston Airport |
| Location: | Houston, Texas, United States |
| GPS Coordinates: | 29°49'5"N by 95°40'20"W |
| Area Served: | Houston, Texas |
| Operator/Owner: | West Houston Airport Corp. |
| Airport Type: | Public use |
| Elevation: | 111 feet (34 meters) |
| # of Runways: | 1 |
| View all routes: | Routes from IWS |
| More Information: | IWS Maps & Info |
Arrival Airport Information:
| IATA / ICAO Codes: | KSM / PASM |
| Airport Name: | St. Mary's Airport |
| Location: | St. Mary's, Alaska, United States |
| GPS Coordinates: | 62°3'38"N by 163°18'6"W |
| Operator/Owner: | Alaska DOT&PF |
| Airport Type: | Public |
| Elevation: | 312 feet (95 meters) |
| # of Runways: | 2 |
| View all routes: | Routes from KSM |
| More Information: | KSM Maps & Info |
Facts about West Houston Airport (IWS):
- Because of West Houston Airport's relatively low elevation of 111 feet, planes can take off or land at West Houston 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.
- West Houston Airport (IWS) currently has only 1 runway.
- The closest airport to West Houston Airport (IWS) is Andrau Airpark (AAP), which is located only 9 miles (14 kilometers) SE of IWS.
- Landing at the airport is free, except for helicopters, where the fee is waived if the customer buys gasoline.
- The furthest airport from West Houston Airport (IWS) is Cocos (Keeling) Island Airport (CCK), which is located 10,979 miles (17,668 kilometers) away in Cocos Islands, Australia.
- This airport is included in the National Plan of Integrated Airport Systems for 2011–2015, which categorized it as a general aviation reliever airport.Houston Air Route Traffic Control Center in Houston is the airport's designated ARTCC.
Facts about St. Mary's Airport (KSM):
- The furthest airport from St. Mary's Airport (KSM) is Cape Town International Airport (CPT), which is located 10,494 miles (16,889 kilometers) away in Cape Town, South Africa.
- St. Mary's Airport (KSM) has 2 runways.
- Because of St. Mary's Airport's relatively low elevation of 312 feet, planes can take off or land at St. Mary's 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 St. Mary's Airport (KSM) is Mountain Village Airport (MOU), which is located only 13 miles (20 kilometers) W of KSM.
