Nonstop flight route between Los Angeles, California, United States and Santa Maria, Portugal:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Los Angeles International Airport (LAX), Los Angeles, California, United States and Santa Maria Airport (SMA), Santa Maria, Portugal would travel a Great Circle distance of 5,019 miles (or 8,077 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 Los Angeles International Airport 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 Los Angeles International Airport 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 Los Angeles International Airport (LAX):

• The furthest airport from Los Angeles International Airport (LAX) is Pierrefonds Airport (ZSE), which is located 11,487 miles (18,487 kilometers) away in Saint-Pierre, Réunion.
• Because of Los Angeles International Airport's relatively low elevation of 126 feet, planes can take off or land at Los Angeles 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.
• Mines Field opened as the airport of Los Angeles in 1930 and the city purchased it to be a municipal airfield in 1937.
• Los Angeles International Airport (LAX) has 4 runways.
• The closest airport to Los Angeles International Airport (LAX) is Hawthorne Municipal Airport (HHR), which is located only 4 miles (7 kilometers) ESE of LAX.
• Los Angeles International Airport handled 66,667,619 passengers last year.
• American Airlines' 707-123s flew the first jet passengers out of LAX to New York in January 1959.
• On July 8, 1982, groundbreaking for the two new terminals were conducted by Mayor Tom Bradley and World War II aviator General James Doolittle.
• It is illegal to limit the number of passengers that use an airport, but in December 2005 the city agreed to limit the passenger gates to 163.
• The airport is a hub for United Airlines, Alaska Airlines, American Airlines, and a focus city for Southwest Airlines, Allegiant Air, Air New Zealand, Qantas, Virgin America and Volaris.

Facts about Santa Maria Airport (SMA):

• In addition to being known as "Santa Maria Airport", another name for SMA is "Aeroporto de Santa Maria".
• The forerunner of SATA Air Açores initiated services concurrently to São Miguel and Terceira from Santa Maria Airport on 5 August 1947, using a plane christened "Açor".
• Santa Maria Airport (SMA) currently has only 1 runway.
• Santa Maria Airport handled 93,436 passengers last year.
• It was built in the context of the Second World War, by US troops in order to maintain supply lines to Europe, and inaugurated on 26 July 1945.
• 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.
• 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.