Nonstop flight route between Monroe, Louisiana, United States and Santa Maria, Portugal:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Monroe Regional Airport (MLU), Monroe, Louisiana, United States and Santa Maria Airport (SMA), Santa Maria, Portugal would travel a Great Circle distance of 3,730 miles (or 6,003 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 Monroe 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 Monroe 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:

Arrival Airport Information:

Facts about Monroe Regional Airport (MLU):

• The closest airport to Monroe Regional Airport (MLU) is Ruston Regional Airport (RSN), which is located 32 miles (52 kilometers) W of MLU.
• Monroe Regional Airport (MLU) has 3 runways.
• During World War II, the United States Army Air Forces Flying Training Command used the airport as a cadet training center beginning in August 1942.
• The vast majority of aircraft flown at Selman AAF were Beech C-45s, also known as the AT-7.
• Southern Airways served Monroe with Douglas DC-9-10 jet flights to New Orleans, Baton Rouge, Memphis, Chicago, Orlando and other destinations.
• Because of Monroe Regional Airport's relatively low elevation of 79 feet, planes can take off or land at Monroe 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.
• The airfield was named Selman Army Airfield, named after a Navy Pilot, Lieutenant Augustus J.
• The furthest airport from Monroe Regional Airport (MLU) is Cocos (Keeling) Island Airport (CCK), which is located 10,924 miles (17,581 kilometers) away in Cocos Islands, Australia.

Facts about Santa Maria Airport (SMA):

• Santa Maria Airport handled 93,436 passengers last year.
• Santa Maria Airport (SMA) currently has only 1 runway.
• 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 forerunner of SATA Air Açores initiated services concurrently to São Miguel and Terceira from Santa Maria Airport on 5 August 1947, using a plane christened "Açor".
• In addition to being known as "Santa Maria Airport", another name for SMA is "Aeroporto de Santa Maria".
• 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.
• The closest airport to Santa Maria Airport (SMA) is João Paulo II Airport (PDL), which is located 60 miles (97 kilometers) NNW of SMA.
• The airport at Santa Maria was part of a larger complex of buildings and infrastructures constructed in the 20th century.