Nonstop flight route between Newquay, England, United Kingdom and Santa Maria, California, United States:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Newquay Cornwall Airport (NQY), Newquay, England, United Kingdom and Santa Maria Public Airport (SMX), Santa Maria, California, United States would travel a Great Circle distance of 5,354 miles (or 8,617 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 Newquay Cornwall 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 Newquay Cornwall 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:

Arrival Airport Information:

Facts about Newquay Cornwall Airport (NQY):

• Newquay Cornwall Airport handled 174,891 passengers last year.
• In addition to being known as "Newquay Cornwall Airport", other names for NQY include "Ayrborth Tewynblustri Kernow" and "EGHQ".
• The closest airport to Newquay Cornwall Airport (NQY) is Land's End Airport (LEQ), which is located 38 miles (61 kilometers) SW of NQY.
• In 2006 the Irish low cost carrier Ryanair pulled out of the airport ceasing flights to London Stansted and Girona-Costa Brava Airport.
• In 2008 the airport closed from the 1st until 19 December.
• The new terminal extension has increased the terminal size by 20%, and was opened in 2006.
• The furthest airport from Newquay Cornwall Airport (NQY) is Dunedin International Airport (DUD), which is nearly antipodal to Newquay Cornwall Airport (meaning Newquay Cornwall Airport is almost on the exact opposite side of the Earth from Dunedin International Airport), and is located 12,055 miles (19,400 kilometers) away in Dunedin, Otago, New Zealand.
• Because of Newquay Cornwall Airport's relatively low elevation of 390 feet, planes can take off or land at Newquay Cornwall 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.
• Newquay Cornwall Airport (NQY) currently has only 1 runway.
• In 2013 the airport handled 174,891 passengers, a 5.0% increase compared with 2012.

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).
• 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.
• A 4,000-square-foot baggage claim facility opened in 2007.
• Santa Maria Public Airport (SMX) has 2 runways.
• 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.
• The first airline to serve Santa Maria was Southwest Airways operating Douglas DC-3 prop aircraft.
• 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.
• In addition to being known as "Santa Maria Public Airport", another name for SMX is "Capt. G. Allan Hancock FieldSanta Maria Army Airfield".