Nonstop flight route between Paris-Orly, Paris, France and Santa Maria, California, United States:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Paris Orly Airport (ORY), Paris-Orly, Paris, France and Santa Maria Public Airport (SMX), Santa Maria, California, United States would travel a Great Circle distance of 5,676 miles (or 9,135 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 Paris Orly 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 Paris Orly 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 Paris Orly Airport (ORY):

• In May 1958 Pan Am DC-7Cs flew to Los Angeles in 21 hr 56 min.
• In addition to being known as "Paris Orly Airport", another name for ORY is "Aéroport de Paris-Orly".
• Paris Orly Airport (ORY) has 3 runways.
• Paris Orly Airport handled 28,274,154 passengers last year.
• The closest airport to Paris Orly Airport (ORY) is Toussus-le-Noble Airport (TNF), which is located only 13 miles (20 kilometers) W of ORY.
• The furthest airport from Paris Orly Airport (ORY) is Chatham Islands (CHT), which is nearly antipodal to Paris Orly Airport (meaning Paris Orly Airport is almost on the exact opposite side of the Earth from Chatham Islands), and is located 12,093 miles (19,461 kilometers) away in Waitangi, Chatham Islands, New Zealand.
• As a result of the Battle of France in 1940, Orly Airport was used by the occupying German Luftwaffe as a combat airfield, stationing various fighter and bomber units at the airport throughout the occupation.
• Because of Paris Orly Airport's relatively low elevation of 291 feet, planes can take off or land at Paris Orly 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.

Facts about Santa Maria Public Airport (SMX):

• In addition to being known as "Santa Maria Public Airport", another name for SMX is "Capt. G. Allan Hancock FieldSanta Maria Army Airfield".
• A runway extension opened on May 3, 2012, from 6,304 ft.
• At one point during the early 1980's Swift Aire Lines, which was based at the nearby San Luis Obispo Airport, was the only airline flying nonstop between Santa Maria and Los Angeles, primarily with Fokker F27 Friendship turboprops which the carrier had purchased new from the manufacturer.
• Besides the current Allegiant jet service, SkyWest Airlines operating as United Express via a code sharing agreement with United Airlines flies Embraer EMB-120 Brasilia turboprops and sometimes Bombardier CRJ-200 Regional Jet nonstop to Los Angeles that served the airport for many years.
• 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.
• Santa Maria Public Airport (SMX) has 2 runways.