Nonstop flight route between Ladysmith, KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa and Santa Maria, California, United States:
Departure Airport:

Arrival Airport:

Distance from LAY to SMX:
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- About this route
- LAY Airport Information
- SMX Airport Information
- Facts about LAY
- Facts about SMX
- Map of Nearest Airports to LAY
- List of Nearest Airports to LAY
- Map of Furthest Airports from LAY
- List of Furthest Airports from LAY
- Map of Nearest Airports to SMX
- List of Nearest Airports to SMX
- Map of Furthest Airports from SMX
- List of Furthest Airports from SMX
About this route:
A direct, nonstop flight between Ladysmith Airport (LAY), Ladysmith, KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa and Santa Maria Public Airport (SMX), Santa Maria, California, United States would travel a Great Circle distance of 10,640 miles (or 17,123 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 Ladysmith 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 Ladysmith 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: | LAY / FALY |
Airport Name: | Ladysmith Airport |
Location: | Ladysmith, KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa |
GPS Coordinates: | 28°34'47"S by 29°45'11"E |
Operator/Owner: | Municipal |
Airport Type: | Public |
Elevation: | 3548 feet (1,081 meters) |
# of Runways: | 1 |
View all routes: | Routes from LAY |
More Information: | LAY 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 Ladysmith Airport (LAY):
- The closest airport to Ladysmith Airport (LAY) is Mokhotlong Airport (MKH), which is located 64 miles (102 kilometers) SW of LAY.
- The furthest airport from Ladysmith Airport (LAY) is Hana Airport (HNM), which is located 11,789 miles (18,972 kilometers) away in Hana, Hawaii, United States.
- Ladysmith Airport (LAY) currently has only 1 runway.
Facts about Santa Maria Public Airport (SMX):
- Other enhancements include a new passenger terminal holding room that opened February 2008.
- In addition to being known as "Santa Maria Public Airport", another name for SMX is "Capt. G. Allan Hancock FieldSanta Maria Army Airfield".
- 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.
- Santa Maria Public Airport (SMX) has 2 runways.
- The extended primary runway at Santa Maria is paved to 8,004 feet, giving the airport the longest civil runway between Los Angeles and San Francisco on the central coast and Vandenberg AFB's runway are longer).
- A runway extension opened on May 3, 2012, from 6,304 ft.
- 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.
- 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 first airline to serve Santa Maria was Southwest Airways operating Douglas DC-3 prop aircraft.