Nonstop flight route between Pau, France and Santa Maria, California, United States:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Pau Pyrénées Airport (PUF), Pau, France and Santa Maria Public Airport (SMX), Santa Maria, California, United States would travel a Great Circle distance of 5,844 miles (or 9,404 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 Pau Pyrénées 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 Pau Pyrénées 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 Pau Pyrénées Airport (PUF):

• Because of Pau Pyrénées Airport's relatively low elevation of 616 feet, planes can take off or land at Pau Pyrénées 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 Pau Pyrénées Airport (PUF) is Tarbes–Lourdes–Pyrénées Airport (LDE), which is located 25 miles (40 kilometers) ESE of PUF.
• In addition to being known as "Pau Pyrénées Airport", another name for PUF is "Aéroport Pau Pyrénées".
• The furthest airport from Pau Pyrénées Airport (PUF) is Chatham Islands (CHT), which is nearly antipodal to Pau Pyrénées Airport (meaning Pau Pyrénées Airport is almost on the exact opposite side of the Earth from Chatham Islands), and is located 12,236 miles (19,692 kilometers) away in Waitangi, Chatham Islands, New Zealand.
• Pau Pyrénées Airport (PUF) currently has only 1 runway.

Facts about Santa Maria Public Airport (SMX):

• A 4,000-square-foot baggage claim facility opened in 2007.
• Santa Maria Public Airport is three miles south of Santa Maria, in northern Santa Barbara County, California.
• After the war Santa Barbara County and the city of Santa Maria acquired the land and facilities through two grants in 1948.
• Santa Maria Public Airport (SMX) has 2 runways.
• Other enhancements include a new passenger terminal holding room that opened February 2008.
• 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.
• In addition to being known as "Santa Maria Public Airport", another name for SMX is "Capt. G. Allan Hancock FieldSanta Maria Army Airfield".
• 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.