Nonstop flight route between Lihue, Hawaii, United States and Santa Maria, California, United States:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Lihue Airport (LIH), Lihue, Hawaii, United States and Santa Maria Public Airport (SMX), Santa Maria, California, United States would travel a Great Circle distance of 2,506 miles (or 4,034 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 Lihue 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 Lihue 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 Lihue Airport (LIH):

• The furthest airport from Lihue Airport (LIH) is Ghanzi Airport (GNZ), which is nearly antipodal to Lihue Airport (meaning Lihue Airport is almost on the exact opposite side of the Earth from Ghanzi Airport), and is located 12,370 miles (19,907 kilometers) away in Ghanzi, Botswana.
• The airport is the primary gateway to Kauai for visitors, and has several rental car facilities.
• Lihue Airport (LIH) has 2 runways.
• The closest airport to Lihue Airport (LIH) is Princeville Airport (HPV), which is located only 17 miles (28 kilometers) NNW of LIH.
• Because of Lihue Airport's relatively low elevation of 153 feet, planes can take off or land at Lihue 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.
• Lihue Airport handled 2,416,812 passengers last year.
• Lihue Airport is a state-owned public-use airport located in the Līhuʻe CDP on the southeast coast of the island of Kauaʻi in Kauai County, Hawaiʻi, United States, two nautical miles east of the center of the CDP.
• The Kauaʻi Bus route 70 connects the airport to downtown Lihue.

Facts about Santa Maria Public Airport (SMX):

• 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.
• In addition to being known as "Santa Maria Public Airport", another name for SMX is "Capt. G. Allan Hancock FieldSanta Maria Army Airfield".
• Santa Maria Public Airport (SMX) has 2 runways.
• A 4,000-square-foot baggage claim facility opened in 2007.
• The airport was built by the United States Army during World War II, known as Santa Maria Army Air Field.
• Besides the current Allegiant jet service, SkyWest Airlines operating as United Express via a code sharing agreement with United Airlines flies Embraer EMB-120 Brasilia turboprops and sometimes Bombardier CRJ-200 Regional Jet nonstop to Los Angeles that served the airport for many years.
• 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 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.
• After the war Santa Barbara County and the city of Santa Maria acquired the land and facilities through two grants in 1948.