Nonstop flight route between Point Lay, Alaska, United States and Santa Maria, Portugal:
Departure Airport:

Arrival Airport:

Distance from PIZ to SMA:
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- About this route
- PIZ Airport Information
- SMA Airport Information
- Facts about PIZ
- Facts about SMA
- Map of Nearest Airports to PIZ
- List of Nearest Airports to PIZ
- Map of Furthest Airports from PIZ
- List of Furthest Airports from PIZ
- Map of Nearest Airports to SMA
- List of Nearest Airports to SMA
- Map of Furthest Airports from SMA
- List of Furthest Airports from SMA
About this route:
A direct, nonstop flight between Point Lay LRRS Airport (PIZ), Point Lay, Alaska, United States and Santa Maria Airport (SMA), Santa Maria, Portugal would travel a Great Circle distance of 4,764 miles (or 7,668 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 Point Lay LRRS 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 Point Lay LRRS 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:
IATA / ICAO Codes: | PIZ / PPIZ |
Airport Name: | Point Lay LRRS Airport |
Location: | Point Lay, Alaska, United States |
GPS Coordinates: | 69°43'55"N by 163°0'39"W |
Operator/Owner: | U.S. Government 11 TCW/LGO Elmendorf |
Airport Type: | Public / Military |
Elevation: | 25 feet (8 meters) |
# of Runways: | 1 |
View all routes: | Routes from PIZ |
More Information: | PIZ Maps & Info |
Arrival Airport Information:
IATA / ICAO Codes: | SMA / LPAZ |
Airport Names: |
|
Location: | Santa Maria, Portugal |
GPS Coordinates: | 36°58'26"N by 25°10'15"W |
Area Served: | Vila do Porto |
Operator/Owner: | Government of Portugal |
Airport Type: | Public |
Elevation: | 308 feet (94 meters) |
# of Runways: | 1 |
View all routes: | Routes from SMA |
More Information: | SMA Maps & Info |
Facts about Point Lay LRRS Airport (PIZ):
- The radar station was upgraded in the late 1980s with new radars and in 1989 was re-designated part of the North Warning System as a Long Range Radar Site, A-15, controlled by the Pacific Air Forces 611th Air Support Group, based at Elmendorf AFB.
- Because of Point Lay LRRS Airport's relatively low elevation of 25 feet, planes can take off or land at Point Lay LRRS 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 furthest airport from Point Lay LRRS Airport (PIZ) is Teniente Rodolfo Marsh Airport (TNM), which is located 10,387 miles (16,716 kilometers) away in Villa Las Estrellas, Antarctica.
- The airport was built in 1957 to support the Distant Early Warning Line Radar station at Point Lay.
- The closest airport to Point Lay LRRS Airport (PIZ) is Wainwright Airport (AIN), which is located 94 miles (152 kilometers) NE of PIZ.
- Point Lay LRRS Airport (PIZ) currently has only 1 runway.
Facts about Santa Maria Airport (SMA):
- The airport at Santa Maria was part of a larger complex of buildings and infrastructures constructed in the 20th century.
- 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.
- 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".