Nonstop flight route between Santa Maria, Rio Grande do Sul, Brazil and Mendi, Papua New Guinea:
Departure Airport:

Arrival Airport:

Distance from RIA to MDU:
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- About this route
- RIA Airport Information
- MDU Airport Information
- Facts about RIA
- Facts about MDU
- Map of Nearest Airports to RIA
- List of Nearest Airports to RIA
- Map of Furthest Airports from RIA
- List of Furthest Airports from RIA
- Map of Nearest Airports to MDU
- List of Nearest Airports to MDU
- Map of Furthest Airports from MDU
- List of Furthest Airports from MDU
About this route:
A direct, nonstop flight between Santa Maria Airport (RIA), Santa Maria, Rio Grande do Sul, Brazil and Mendi Airport (MDU), Mendi, Papua New Guinea would travel a Great Circle distance of 9,705 miles (or 15,618 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 Santa Maria Airport and Mendi 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 Santa Maria Airport and Mendi Airport. You'll see that it will travel the same route of the red line on this map!
Departure Airport Information:
IATA / ICAO Codes: | RIA / SBSM |
Airport Names: |
|
Location: | Santa Maria, Rio Grande do Sul, Brazil |
GPS Coordinates: | 29°42'38"S by 53°41'31"W |
Area Served: | Santa Maria |
Operator/Owner: | Brazilian Air Force |
Airport Type: | Public/Military |
Elevation: | 289 feet (88 meters) |
# of Runways: | 2 |
View all routes: | Routes from RIA |
More Information: | RIA Maps & Info |
Arrival Airport Information:
IATA / ICAO Codes: | MDU / AYMN |
Airport Name: | Mendi Airport |
Location: | Mendi, Papua New Guinea |
GPS Coordinates: | 6°8'51"S by 143°39'25"E |
Elevation: | 5680 feet (1,731 meters) |
# of Runways: | 1 |
View all routes: | Routes from MDU |
More Information: | MDU Maps & Info |
Facts about Santa Maria Airport (RIA):
- Because of Santa Maria Airport's relatively low elevation of 289 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.
- Some of its facilities are shared with the Santa Maria Air Force Base of the Brazilian Air Force.
- Santa Maria Airport (RIA) has 2 runways.
- The closest airport to Santa Maria Airport (RIA) is João Batista Bos Filho Airport (IJU), which is located 93 miles (150 kilometers) N of RIA.
- The airport is located 11 km east of downtown Santa Maria.
- The furthest airport from Santa Maria Airport (RIA) is Aguni Airport (AGJ), which is nearly antipodal to Santa Maria Airport (meaning Santa Maria Airport is almost on the exact opposite side of the Earth from Aguni Airport), and is located 12,214 miles (19,656 kilometers) away in Aguni, Japan.
- In addition to being known as "Santa Maria Airport", another name for RIA is "Aeroporto de Santa Maria".
- It is operated by the Brazilian Air Force.
Facts about Mendi Airport (MDU):
- Because of Mendi Airport's high elevation of 5,680 feet, planes must typically fly at a faster airspeed in order to takeoff or land at MDU. Combined with a high temperature, this could make MDU a "Hot & High" airport, where the air density is lower than it would otherwise be at sea level.
- The furthest airport from Mendi Airport (MDU) is Pinto Martins – Fortaleza International Airport (FOR), which is located 11,735 miles (18,885 kilometers) away in Fortaleza, Ceará, Brazil.
- Mendi Airport (MDU) currently has only 1 runway.
- The closest airport to Mendi Airport (MDU) is Moro Airport (MXH), which is located 32 miles (52 kilometers) WSW of MDU.