Nonstop flight route between Merced, California, United States and Santa Maria, Portugal:
Departure Airport:
(37°17'4"N by 120°30'50"W)
Arrival Airport:
(36°58'26"N by 25°10'15"W)
Distance from MCE to SMA:
4,990.77 miles (8,031.85 km)
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- About this route
- MCE Airport Information
- SMA Airport Information
- Facts about MCE
- Facts about SMA
- Map of Nearest Airports to MCE
- List of Nearest Airports to MCE
- Map of Furthest Airports from MCE
- List of Furthest Airports from MCE
- Map of Nearest Airports to SMA
- List of Nearest Airports to SMA
- Map of Furthest Airports from SMA
- List of Furthest Airports from SMA
About this route:
A direct, nonstop flight between Merced Regional Airport (MCE), Merced, California, United States and Santa Maria Airport (SMA), Santa Maria, Portugal would travel a Great Circle distance of 4,991 miles (or 8,032 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 Merced Regional 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 Merced Regional 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:
| IATA / ICAO Codes: | MCE / KMCE |
| Airport Names: |
|
| Location: | Merced, California, United States |
| GPS Coordinates: | 37°17'4"N by 120°30'50"W |
| Area Served: | Merced, California |
| Operator/Owner: | City of Merced |
| Airport Type: | Public |
| Elevation: | 155 feet (47 meters) |
| # of Runways: | 1 |
| View all routes: | Routes from MCE |
| More Information: | MCE Maps & Info |
Arrival Airport Information:
| IATA / ICAO Codes: | SMA / LPAZ |
| Airport Names: |
|
| Location: | Santa Maria, Portugal |
| GPS Coordinates: | 36°58'26"N by 25°10'15"W |
| Area Served: | Vila do Porto |
| Operator/Owner: | Government of Portugal |
| Airport Type: | Public |
| Elevation: | 308 feet (94 meters) |
| # of Runways: | 1 |
| View all routes: | Routes from SMA |
| More Information: | SMA Maps & Info |
Facts about Merced Regional Airport (MCE):
- Merced Regional Airport is a base for Medi-Flight Northern California, an air ambulance service provided by Mercy Air, a subsidiary of Air Methods.
- In addition to being known as "Merced Regional Airport", another name for MCE is "MacReady Field".
- The furthest airport from Merced Regional Airport (MCE) is Tôlanaro Airport (FTU), which is located 11,314 miles (18,209 kilometers) away in Tôlanaro, Madagascar.
- The closest airport to Merced Regional Airport (MCE) is Castle Airport (MER), which is located only 7 miles (12 kilometers) NNW of MCE.
- Because of Merced Regional Airport's relatively low elevation of 155 feet, planes can take off or land at Merced Regional 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.
- Merced Regional Airport (MCE) currently has only 1 runway.
- The airport was formerly served by Air Pacific, American Eagle, Golden Gate Airlines, United Airlines, United Express and US Airways Express.
- During the 1950s the airport was used to service United States Armed Forces aircraft, and a land acquisition in February 1955 allowed runway 12/30 to be extended.
Facts about Santa Maria Airport (SMA):
- In addition to being known as "Santa Maria Airport", another name for SMA is "Aeroporto de Santa Maria".
- Santa Maria Airport handled 93,436 passengers last year.
- Santa Maria Airport (SMA) currently has only 1 runway.
- 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.
- Santa Maria Airport is an airport located 5 km west northwest of the urbanized area of Vila do Porto on the Portuguese island of Santa Maria, in the autonomous region of the Azores.
- Transportes Aéreos Portugueses began lay-over flights to this airport on 7 December 1962, eventually inaugurating trans-Atlantic service between Santa Maria-New York and Santa Maria-Montreal.
- 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.
- The closest airport to Santa Maria Airport (SMA) is João Paulo II Airport (PDL), which is located 60 miles (97 kilometers) NNW of SMA.
| Rank | Distance & Direction | Airport Name & IATA Code | Airport Location | Further Actions |
| 1 | 7.26 miles (11.68 km) NNW | Castle Airport (MER) | Atwater, California, United States |     |
| 2 | 24.85 miles (40.00 km) SW | Los Banos Municipal Airport (LSN) | Los Banos, California, United States | |
| 3 | 30.12 miles (48.48 km) SE | Madera Municipal Airport (MAE) | Madera, California, United States | |
| 4 | 33.75 miles (54.32 km) NW | Modesto City-County Airport (MOD) | Modesto, California, United States | |
| 5 | 33.80 miles (54.40 km) WNW | NASA Crows Landing Airport (NRC) | Crows Landing, California, United States | |
| 6 | 51.82 miles (83.39 km) N | Columbia Airport (COA) | Columbia, California, United States | |
| 7 | 54.05 miles (86.99 km) SE | Fresno Chandler Executive AirportChandler Municipal Airport (Old) (FCH) | Fresno, California, United States | |
| 8 | 56.17 miles (90.40 km) SE | Fresno Yosemite International Airport (FAT) | Fresno, California, United States | |
| 9 | 56.32 miles (90.64 km) WSW | Hollister Municipal Airport (HLI) | Hollister, California, United States | |
| 10 | 57.85 miles (93.10 km) NW | Stockton Metropolitan Airport (SCK) | Stockton, California, United States | |
| 11 | 71.84 miles (115.61 km) W | Reid-Hillview Airport of Santa Clara County (RHV) | San Jose, California, United States | |
| 12 | 72.73 miles (117.05 km) SSE | Naval Air Station Lemoore (NLC) | Lemoore, California, United States | |
| 13 | 74.05 miles (119.17 km) SW | Salinas Municipal AirportSalinas Army Air Base (SNS) | Salinas, California, United States | |
| 14 | 74.32 miles (119.60 km) WSW | Watsonville Municipal Airport (WVI) | Watsonville, California, United States | |
| 15 | 76.99 miles (123.90 km) WNW | Livermore Municipal Airport (LVK) | Livermore, California, United States | |
| Rank | Distance & Direction | Airport Name & IATA Code | Airport Location | Further Actions |
| 1 | 11,314.37 miles (18,208.66 km) SE | Tôlanaro Airport (FTU) | Tôlanaro, Madagascar | |
| 2 | 11,307.39 miles (18,197.43 km) SSE | Pierrefonds Airport (ZSE) | Saint-Pierre, Réunion | |
| 3 | 11,279.28 miles (18,152.20 km) SSE | Roland Garros Airport (RUN) | St Denis, Réunion, France | |
| 4 | 11,267.22 miles (18,132.79 km) S | Sir Seewoosagur Ramgoolam International Airport (MRU) | Plaisance, Mauritius | |
| 5 | 11,207.12 miles (18,036.06 km) SE | Ampanihy Airport (AMP) | Ampanihy, Madagascar | |
| 6 | 11,203.48 miles (18,030.21 km) SSW | Sir Gaëtan Duval Airport (RRG) | Rodrigues Island, Mauritius | |
| 7 | 11,141.12 miles (17,929.85 km) SE | Mananjary Airport (MNJ) | Mananjary, Madagascar | |
| 8 | 11,115.41 miles (17,888.48 km) SE | Fianarantsoa Airport (WFI) | Fianarantsoa, Madagascar | |
| 9 | 11,013.77 miles (17,724.89 km) SE | Manja Airport (MJA) | Manja, Menabe, Madagascar | |
| 10 | 11,010.70 miles (17,719.97 km) SE | Andavadoaka Airport (DVD) | Andavadoaka, Toliara province, Atsimo-Andrefana region, Madagascar | |
| 11 | 10,995.65 miles (17,695.73 km) SE | Morombe Airport (MXM) | Morombe, Madagascar | |
| 12 | 10,977.40 miles (17,666.37 km) SSE | Toamasino Airport (TMM) | Toamasina, Madagascar | |
| 13 | 10,967.52 miles (17,650.47 km) SSE | Ivato International Airport (TNR) | Antananarivo, Madagascar | |
| 14 | 10,948.55 miles (17,619.94 km) SE | Miandrivazo Airport (ZVA) | Miandrivazo, Madagascar | |
| 15 | 10,923.94 miles (17,580.34 km) SE | Belo sur Tsiribihina Airport (BMD) | Belo sur Tsiribihina, Madagascar | |
| Rank | Distance & Direction | Airport Name & IATA Code | Airport Location | Further Actions |
| 1 | 60.44 miles (97.26 km) NNW | João Paulo II Airport (PDL) | Ponta Delgada, Azores, Portugal | |
| 2 | 161.94 miles (260.61 km) NW | Lajes Air Base (TER) | Lajes, Azores, Portugal | |
| 3 | 209.34 miles (336.90 km) WNW | Pico Airport (PIX) | Pico Island, Azores, Portugal | |
| 4 | 213.54 miles (343.67 km) NW | Graciosa Airport (GRW) | Graciosa Island, Azores, Portugal | |
| 5 | 221.17 miles (355.94 km) WNW | Horta International Airport (HOR) | Horta, Azores, Portugal | |
| 6 | 366.19 miles (589.32 km) WNW | Flores Airport (FLW) | Flores Island, Azores, Portugal | |
| 7 | 371.97 miles (598.63 km) WNW | Corvo Airport (CVU) | Corvo Island, Azores, Portugal | |
| 8 | 560.01 miles (901.25 km) ESE | Madeira Airport (FNC) | Funchal, Madeira, Portugal | |
| 9 | 566.98 miles (912.46 km) ESE | Porto Santo Airport (PXO) | Porto Santo, Madeira, Portugal | |
| 10 | 719.25 miles (1,157.51 km) SE | La Palma Airport (SPC) | La Palma, Canary Islands, Spain | |
| 11 | 771.87 miles (1,242.20 km) SE | La Gomera Airport (GMZ) | Alajeró / San Sebastián, Canary Islands, Spain | |
| 12 | 778.68 miles (1,253.16 km) SE | Tenerife North Airport (TFN) | Tenerife, Canary Islands, Spain | |
| 13 | 793.97 miles (1,277.77 km) SE | Tenerife-South Airport (TFS) | Tenerife, Canary Islands, Spain | |
| 14 | 844.99 miles (1,359.87 km) SE | Gran Canaria Airport (LPA) | Las Palmas, Canary Islands, Spain | |
| 15 | 869.00 miles (1,398.51 km) SE | Lanzarote Airport (ACE) | Arrecife, Canary Islands, Spain | |
| Rank | Distance & Direction | Airport Name & IATA Code | Airport Location | Further Actions |
| 1 | 12,166.03 miles (19,579.28 km) ESE | Moruya Airport (MYA) | Moruya, New South Wales, Australia | |
| 2 | 12,164.68 miles (19,577.11 km) E | Merimbula Airport (MIM) | Merimbula, New South Wales, Australia | |
| 3 | 12,155.61 miles (19,562.50 km) SE | Illawarra Regional Airport (WOL) | Shellharbour, Wollongong, New South Wales, Australia | |
| 4 | 12,143.59 miles (19,543.17 km) SE | Sydney (Kingsford Smith) Airport (SYD) | Mascot (near Sydney), Australia | |
| 5 | 12,135.02 miles (19,529.37 km) SE | Bankstown Airport (BWU) | Bankstown (near Sydney), New South Wales, Australia | |
| 6 | 12,128.04 miles (19,518.13 km) SE | Camden Aerodrome (CDU) | Camden, New South Wales, Australia | |
| 7 | 12,113.81 miles (19,495.24 km) ESE | Goulburn Airport (GUL) | Goulburn, New South Wales, Australia | |
| 8 | 12,112.40 miles (19,492.97 km) SE | Belmont Airport (BEO) | Newcastle, New South Wales, Australia | |
| 9 | 12,102.07 miles (19,476.35 km) ESE | Canberra Airport (CBR) | Canberra, Australia | |
| 10 | 12,101.93 miles (19,476.12 km) SSE | Newcastle Airport (NTL) | Newcastle, New South Wales, Australia | |
| 11 | 12,086.58 miles (19,451.41 km) SE | Cessnock Airport (CES) | Cessnock, New South Wales, Australia | |
| 12 | 12,086.22 miles (19,450.83 km) SSE | Maitland Airport (MTL) | Maitland, New South Wales, Australia | |
| 13 | 12,054.69 miles (19,400.10 km) SE | Bathurst Airport (BHS) | Bathurst, New South Wales, Australia | |
| 14 | 12,047.90 miles (19,389.17 km) E | Corryong Airport (CYG) | Corryong, Victoria, Australia | |
| 15 | 12,038.04 miles (19,373.30 km) SSE | Port Macquarie Airport (PQQ) | Port Macquarie, New South Wales, Australia | |