Nonstop flight route between Leeuwarden, Netherlands and Île Sainte-Marie, Madagascar:
Departure Airport:

Arrival Airport:

Distance from LWR to SMS:
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- About this route
- LWR Airport Information
- SMS Airport Information
- Facts about LWR
- Facts about SMS
- Map of Nearest Airports to LWR
- List of Nearest Airports to LWR
- Map of Furthest Airports from LWR
- List of Furthest Airports from LWR
- Map of Nearest Airports to SMS
- List of Nearest Airports to SMS
- Map of Furthest Airports from SMS
- List of Furthest Airports from SMS
About this route:
A direct, nonstop flight between Leeuwarden Air Base (LWR), Leeuwarden, Netherlands and Sainte Marie Airport (SMS), Île Sainte-Marie, Madagascar would travel a Great Circle distance of 5,519 miles (or 8,882 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 Leeuwarden Air Base and Sainte Marie 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 Leeuwarden Air Base and Sainte Marie Airport. You'll see that it will travel the same route of the red line on this map!
Departure Airport Information:
IATA / ICAO Codes: | LWR / EHLW |
Airport Names: |
|
Location: | Leeuwarden, Netherlands |
GPS Coordinates: | 53°13'42"N by 5°45'38"E |
Operator/Owner: | Military of the Netherlands |
Airport Type: | Military |
Elevation: | 3 feet (1 meters) |
# of Runways: | 2 |
View all routes: | Routes from LWR |
More Information: | LWR Maps & Info |
Arrival Airport Information:
IATA / ICAO Codes: | SMS / FMMS |
Airport Name: | Sainte Marie Airport |
Location: | Île Sainte-Marie, Madagascar |
GPS Coordinates: | 17°5'38"S by 49°48'56"E |
Area Served: | Sainte Marie, Analanjirofo, Madagascar |
Airport Type: | Public |
Elevation: | 7 feet (2 meters) |
# of Runways: | 1 |
View all routes: | Routes from SMS |
More Information: | SMS Maps & Info |
Facts about Leeuwarden Air Base (LWR):
- Because of Leeuwarden Air Base's relatively low elevation of 3 feet, planes can take off or land at Leeuwarden Air Base 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.
- In 2016 a squadron of MQ-9 Reapers will be based at Leeuwarden Air Base to be fully operational as of 2017.
- In addition to being known as "Leeuwarden Air Base", another name for LWR is "Vliegbasis Leeuwarden".
- The furthest airport from Leeuwarden Air Base (LWR) is Chatham Islands (CHT), which is located 11,778 miles (18,955 kilometers) away in Waitangi, Chatham Islands, New Zealand.
- The airport of Leeuwarden was built in 1938, and originally was used as an airport between Schiphol – Eelde.
- Leeuwarden Air Base (LWR) has 2 runways.
- The closest airport to Leeuwarden Air Base (LWR) is Groningen Airport Eelde (GRQ), which is located 35 miles (56 kilometers) ESE of LWR.
Facts about Sainte Marie Airport (SMS):
- The closest airport to Sainte Marie Airport (SMS) is Toamasino Airport (TMM), which is located 76 miles (122 kilometers) SSW of SMS.
- Sainte Marie Airport (SMS) currently has only 1 runway.
- The furthest airport from Sainte Marie Airport (SMS) is Guerrero Negro Airport (GUB), which is located 11,161 miles (17,962 kilometers) away in Guerrero Negro, Baja California Sur, Mexico.
- Because of Sainte Marie Airport's relatively low elevation of 7 feet, planes can take off or land at Sainte Marie 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.