Nonstop flight route between Melbourne, Victoria, Australia and Santa Maria, California, United States:
Departure Airport:
Arrival Airport:
Distance from MEL to SMX:
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- About this route
- MEL Airport Information
- SMX Airport Information
- Facts about MEL
- Facts about SMX
- 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 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 Melbourne Airport (MEL), Melbourne, Victoria, Australia and Santa Maria Public Airport (SMX), Santa Maria, California, United States would travel a Great Circle distance of 7,860 miles (or 12,649 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 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 Melbourne 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: | MEL / YMML |
| Airport Names: |
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| 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: | SMX / KSMX |
| Airport Names: |
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| 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 Melbourne Airport (MEL):
- In addition to being known as "Melbourne Airport", another name for MEL is "Tullamarine Airport".
- Construction works were undertaken to prepare the airport for the arrival of the double-decker Airbus A380.
- Today, a wide range of shops and food outlets are situated at the end of the terminal near the entrance into Terminal 2.
- Since privatisation, further improvements to infrastructure have begun at the airport, including expansion of runways, car parks and terminals.
- Melbourne Airport handled 2,998,000 passengers last year.
- A$330 million expansion programme for Terminal 2 was announced in 2007.
- The closest airport to Melbourne Airport (MEL) is Essendon Airport (MEB), which is located only 5 miles (8 kilometers) SE of MEL.
- Before the opening of Melbourne Airport, Melbourne's main airport was Essendon Airport which was officially designated an international airport in 1950.
- 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.
- Melbourne Airport (MEL) has 2 runways.
- 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.
Facts about Santa Maria Public Airport (SMX):
- 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).
- During its use by the military Santa Maria AAF also controlled Estrella Army Airfield, near Paso Robles as an auxiliary airfield to support the pilot training activity.
- 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 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.
- In addition to being known as "Santa Maria Public Airport", another name for SMX is "Capt. G. Allan Hancock FieldSanta Maria Army Airfield".
