Nonstop flight route between Molde, Norway and Santa Maria, California, United States:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Molde Airport, Årø (MOL), Molde, Norway and Santa Maria Public Airport (SMX), Santa Maria, California, United States would travel a Great Circle distance of 5,100 miles (or 8,207 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 Molde Airport, Årø 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 Molde Airport, Årø 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:

Arrival Airport Information:

Facts about Molde Airport, Årø (MOL):

• Molde Airport, Årø handled 436,471 passengers last year.
• Because of Molde Airport, Årø's relatively low elevation of 10 feet, planes can take off or land at Molde Airport, Årø 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 2005, the airport got permanent international status, and now has a duty-free shop in the departure area.
• Molde Airport, Årø (MOL) currently has only 1 runway.
• The closest airport to Molde Airport, Årø (MOL) is Kristiansund Airport, Kvernberget (KSU), which is located 31 miles (50 kilometers) NE of MOL.
• In addition to being known as "Molde Airport, Årø", another name for MOL is "Molde lufthavn, Årø".
• The furthest airport from Molde Airport, Årø (MOL) is Chatham Islands (CHT), which is located 11,120 miles (17,896 kilometers) away in Waitangi, Chatham Islands, New Zealand.

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).
• 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".
• A 4,000-square-foot baggage claim facility opened in 2007.
• A runway extension opened on May 3, 2012, from 6,304 ft.
• 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.
• 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.
• 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.