Nonstop flight route between Stanley, Falkland Islands, United Kingdom and Santa Maria, California, United States:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Port Stanley Airport (PSY), Stanley, Falkland Islands, United Kingdom and Santa Maria Public Airport (SMX), Santa Maria, California, United States would travel a Great Circle distance of 7,078 miles (or 11,392 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 Port Stanley 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 Port Stanley 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 Port Stanley Airport (PSY):

• Port Stanley Airport (PSY) has 2 runways.
• Prior to 1972, there was no airport in the Falkland Islands with a paved runway, and all trips to the islands had to be undertaken by boat.
• After the war, the Royal Air Force took over the airport, renaming it RAF Stanley.
• During the Falklands War of 1982, Argentine forces occupied the airport.
• The furthest airport from Port Stanley Airport (PSY) is Mohe Gulian Airport (OHE), which is nearly antipodal to Port Stanley Airport (meaning Port Stanley Airport is almost on the exact opposite side of the Earth from Mohe Gulian Airport), and is located 12,351 miles (19,877 kilometers) away in Mohe, Heilongjiang, China.
• The closest airport to Port Stanley Airport (PSY) is RAF Mount Pleasant (MPN), which is located 30 miles (49 kilometers) WSW of PSY.
• On May 1, 1982, the Royal Air Force bombed the airport in Operation Black Buck and several other raids were carried out by embarked Harriers.
• Because of Port Stanley Airport's relatively low elevation of 75 feet, planes can take off or land at Port Stanley 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):

• Allegiant Air has expanded flights between Las Vegas and Santa Maria with four nonstops per week each way.
• 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.
• 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.
• 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.
• 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.
• In addition to being known as "Santa Maria Public Airport", another name for SMX is "Capt. G. Allan Hancock FieldSanta Maria Army Airfield".