Nonstop flight route between Melbourne, Victoria, Australia and Santa Maria, Portugal:
Departure Airport:
(37°40'23"S by 144°50'35"E)
Arrival Airport:
(36°58'26"N by 25°10'15"W)
Distance from MEL to SMA:
11,886.29 miles (19,129.07 km)
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- About this route
- MEL Airport Information
- SMA Airport Information
- Facts about MEL
- Facts about SMA
- Map of Nearest Airports to MEL
- List of Nearest Airports to MEL
- Map of Furthest Airports from MEL
- List of Furthest Airports from MEL
- 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 Melbourne Airport (MEL), Melbourne, Victoria, Australia and Santa Maria Airport (SMA), Santa Maria, Portugal would travel a Great Circle distance of 11,886 miles (or 19,129 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 Melbourne 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 Melbourne 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: | MEL / YMML |
| Airport Names: |
|
| Location: | Melbourne, Victoria, Australia |
| GPS Coordinates: | 37°40'23"S by 144°50'35"E |
| Area Served: | Melbourne |
| Operator/Owner: | Australia Pacific Airports Corporation Limited |
| Airport Type: | Public |
| Elevation: | 434 feet (132 meters) |
| # of Runways: | 2 |
| View all routes: | Routes from MEL |
| More Information: | MEL 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 Melbourne Airport (MEL):
- Melbourne Airport handled 2,998,000 passengers last year.
- In 1988, the Australian Government formed the Federal Airports Corporation, placing Melbourne Airport under the operational control of the new corporation along with 21 other airports around the nation.
- The furthest airport from Melbourne Airport (MEL) is Flores Airport (FLW), which is nearly antipodal to Melbourne Airport (meaning Melbourne Airport is almost on the exact opposite side of the Earth from Flores Airport), and is located 12,187 miles (19,613 kilometers) away in Flores Island, Azores, Portugal.
- Melbourne Airport (MEL) has 2 runways.
- The closest airport to Melbourne Airport (MEL) is Essendon Airport (MEB), which is located only 5 miles (8 kilometers) SE of MEL.
- Because of Melbourne Airport's relatively low elevation of 434 feet, planes can take off or land at Melbourne 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.
- Terminal 4 – originally called the Domestic Express or South Terminal – is dedicated to budget airlines and is the first facility of its kind at a conventional airport in Australia.
- In addition to being known as "Melbourne Airport", another name for MEL is "Tullamarine Airport".
- In May 1959 it was announced that a new airport would be built at Tullamarine, with Prime Minister Robert Menzies announcing on 27 November 1962 a five-year plan to provide Melbourne with a A$45 million "jetport" by 1967.
- Today, a wide range of shops and food outlets are situated at the end of the terminal near the entrance into Terminal 2.
Facts about Santa Maria Airport (SMA):
- 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 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.
- A chartered Boeing 707-300, Independent Air Flight 1851 from Bergamo, Italy in 1989 crashed on approach to Santa Maria Airport, when it struck the Pico Alto mountain.
- 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 (SMA) currently has only 1 runway.
- The closest airport to Santa Maria Airport (SMA) is João Paulo II Airport (PDL), which is located 60 miles (97 kilometers) NNW of 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.
| Rank | Distance & Direction | Airport Name & IATA Code | Airport Location | Further Actions |
| 1 | 4.96 miles (7.98 km) SE | Essendon Airport (MEB) | Melbourne, Victoria, Australia |     |
| 2 | 25.23 miles (40.60 km) SE | Moorabbin Harry Hawker Airport (MBW) | Moorabbin, Victoria, Australia | |
| 3 | 44.63 miles (71.82 km) SW | Avalon Airport (AVV) | Avalon, Victoria, Australia | |
| 4 | 47.19 miles (75.95 km) SW | Geelong Airport (GEX) | Grovedale, Victoria, Australia | |
| 5 | 70.44 miles (113.37 km) NNW | Bendigo Airport (BXG) | Bendigo, Victoria, Australia | |
| 6 | 91.16 miles (146.71 km) NNE | Shepparton Airport (SHT) | Shepparton, Victoria, Australia | |
| 7 | 100.57 miles (161.85 km) NE | Benalla Airport (BLN) | Benalla, Victoria, Australia | |
| 8 | 104.74 miles (168.57 km) WNW | Ararat Airport (ARY) | Ararat, Victoria, Australia | |
| 9 | 104.85 miles (168.74 km) N | Echuca Airport (ECH) | Echuca, Victoria, Australia | |
| 10 | 137.40 miles (221.13 km) WSW | Warrnambool Airport (WMB) | Warrnambool, Victoria, Australia | |
| 11 | 141.89 miles (228.34 km) NNW | Kerang Airport (KRA) | Kerang, Victoria, Australia | |
| 12 | 143.12 miles (230.33 km) NE | Corowa Airport (CWW) | Corowa, New South Wales, Australia | |
| 13 | 143.46 miles (230.87 km) ENE | Mount Hotham Airport (MHU) | Mount Hotham, Victoria, Australia | |
| 14 | 146.13 miles (235.17 km) N | Deniliquin Airport (DNQ) | Deniliquin, New South Wales, Australia | |
| 15 | 149.51 miles (240.61 km) E | Bairnsdale Aerodrome (BSJ) | Bairnsdale, Victoria, Australia | |
| Rank | Distance & Direction | Airport Name & IATA Code | Airport Location | Further Actions |
| 1 | 12,186.88 miles (19,612.84 km) WNW | Flores Airport (FLW) | Flores Island, Azores, Portugal | |
| 2 | 12,178.71 miles (19,599.68 km) WNW | Corvo Airport (CVU) | Corvo Island, Azores, Portugal | |
| 3 | 12,081.84 miles (19,443.78 km) WNW | Horta International Airport (HOR) | Horta, Azores, Portugal | |
| 4 | 12,066.79 miles (19,419.57 km) WNW | Pico Airport (PIX) | Pico Island, Azores, Portugal | |
| 5 | 12,038.60 miles (19,374.20 km) WNW | Graciosa Airport (GRW) | Graciosa Island, Azores, Portugal | |
| 6 | 11,992.69 miles (19,300.32 km) WNW | Lajes Air Base (TER) | Lajes, Azores, Portugal | |
| 7 | 11,919.95 miles (19,183.25 km) W | João Paulo II Airport (PDL) | Ponta Delgada, Azores, Portugal | |
| 8 | 11,886.29 miles (19,129.07 km) W | Santa Maria Airport (SMA) | Santa Maria, Portugal | |
| 9 | 11,345.60 miles (18,258.93 km) WNW | Madeira Airport (FNC) | Funchal, Madeira, Portugal | |
| 10 | 11,332.76 miles (18,238.26 km) W | Porto Santo Airport (PXO) | Porto Santo, Madeira, Portugal | |
| 11 | 11,313.48 miles (18,207.24 km) NE | St. John's International Airport (YYT) | St. John's, Newfoundland and Labrador, Canada | |
| 12 | 11,254.91 miles (18,112.98 km) WNW | La Palma Airport (SPC) | La Palma, Canary Islands, Spain | |
| 13 | 11,203.87 miles (18,030.83 km) WNW | La Gomera Airport (GMZ) | Alajeró / San Sebastián, Canary Islands, Spain | |
| 14 | 11,197.14 miles (18,020.01 km) NE | Saint-Pierre Airport (FSP) | Saint-Pierre, Saint Pierre and Miquelon, France | |
| 15 | 11,194.75 miles (18,016.17 km) NE | Gander International Airport (YQX) | Gander, Newfoundland, Canada | |
| 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 | |