Nonstop flight route between Missoula, Montana, United States and Santa Maria, Portugal:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Missoula International Airport (MSO), Missoula, Montana, United States and Santa Maria Airport (SMA), Santa Maria, Portugal would travel a Great Circle distance of 4,373 miles (or 7,037 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 Missoula International 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 Missoula International 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 Missoula International Airport (MSO):

• The National Plan of Integrated Airport Systems for 2011–2015 categorized it as a primary commercial service airport.Federal Aviation Administration records say the airport had 288,071 passenger boardings in calendar year 2008, 281,428 in 2009 and 289,875 in 2010.
• The furthest airport from Missoula International Airport (MSO) is Tôlanaro Airport (FTU), which is located 10,601 miles (17,061 kilometers) away in Tôlanaro, Madagascar.
• Several expansion projects are planned or underway, including the construction of 150-foot control tower.
• In addition to being known as "Missoula International Airport", another name for MSO is "Johnson-Bell Field".
• Missoula International Airport (MSO) has 2 runways.
• Missoula International Airport handled 594,057 passengers last year.
• The airport covers 2,700 acres at an elevation of 3,206 feet.
• The closest airport to Missoula International Airport (MSO) is Glacier Park International Airport (FCA), which is located 97 miles (156 kilometers) N of MSO.

Facts about Santa Maria Airport (SMA):

• 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.
• Santa Maria Airport (SMA) currently has only 1 runway.
• Santa Maria Airport handled 93,436 passengers last year.
• 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.
• In addition to being known as "Santa Maria Airport", another name for SMA is "Aeroporto de Santa Maria".
• 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.
• 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.