Nonstop flight route between Palmdale, California, United States and Porto Santo, Madeira, Portugal:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Palmdale Regional Airport (PMD), Palmdale, California, United States and Porto Santo Airport (PXO), Porto Santo, Madeira, Portugal would travel a Great Circle distance of 5,543 miles (or 8,920 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 Palmdale Regional Airport and Porto Santo 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 Palmdale Regional Airport and Porto Santo 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 Palmdale Regional Airport (PMD):

• LAWA has used Plant 42's facilities in past years when at one point in the early 1990s several airlines used the Palmdale Regional Airport terminal sited on Plant 42.
• The Blackbird Airpark Museum and the adjacent Palmdale Plant 42 Heritage Airpark have recently been opened on Plant 42 property along Avenue P with displays of the SR-71, U-2, Century Series fighters and other aircraft designed, engineered, manufactured, and flight tested at its facilities.
• The furthest airport from Palmdale Regional Airport (PMD) is Pierrefonds Airport (ZSE), which is located 11,436 miles (18,405 kilometers) away in Saint-Pierre, Réunion.
• PMD and Plant 42 are separate facilities that share a common runway at the site.
• Both the Air Force and its aircraft contractors needed a location away from major population centers - due to sonic booms, other noises and security concerns - but close enough to the major centers of aircraft design and production, while having excellent flying weather the year around.
• Palmdale Regional Airport (PMD) has 3 runways.
• Palmdale Army Airfield was declared a surplus facility in 1946 and was purchased by Los Angeles County for use as a municipal airport.
• The closest airport to Palmdale Regional Airport (PMD) is General Wm. J. Fox Airfield (WJF), which is located only 11 miles (17 kilometers) NW of PMD.

Facts about Porto Santo Airport (PXO):

• Porto Santo Airport is an airport located 2 km north northwest of Porto Santo on Porto Santo Island, Madeira.
• The island of Porto Santo was the first of the Madeira Islands to obtain an airport.
• In addition to being known as "Porto Santo Airport", another name for PXO is "Aeroporto de Porto Santo".
• Because of Porto Santo Airport's relatively low elevation of 338 feet, planes can take off or land at Porto Santo 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.
• Porto Santo Airport (PXO) currently has only 1 runway.
• The furthest airport from Porto Santo Airport (PXO) is Lord Howe Island Airport (LDH), which is nearly antipodal to Porto Santo Airport (meaning Porto Santo Airport is almost on the exact opposite side of the Earth from Lord Howe Island Airport), and is located 12,150 miles (19,553 kilometers) away in Lord Howe Island, New South Wales, Australia.
• The closest airport to Porto Santo Airport (PXO) is Madeira Airport (FNC), which is located 36 miles (58 kilometers) SW of PXO.
• Porto Santo Airport handled 106,592 passengers last year.