Nonstop flight route between Santa Barbara, California, United States and Kundiawa, Papua New Guinea:
Departure Airport:

Arrival Airport:

Distance from SBA to CMU:
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- About this route
- SBA Airport Information
- CMU Airport Information
- Facts about SBA
- Facts about CMU
- Map of Nearest Airports to SBA
- List of Nearest Airports to SBA
- Map of Furthest Airports from SBA
- List of Furthest Airports from SBA
- Map of Nearest Airports to CMU
- List of Nearest Airports to CMU
- Map of Furthest Airports from CMU
- List of Furthest Airports from CMU
About this route:
A direct, nonstop flight between Santa Barbara Airport (SBA), Santa Barbara, California, United States and Chimbu Airport (CMU), Kundiawa, Papua New Guinea would travel a Great Circle distance of 6,749 miles (or 10,861 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 Barbara Airport and Chimbu 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 Barbara Airport and Chimbu Airport. You'll see that it will travel the same route of the red line on this map!
Departure Airport Information:
IATA / ICAO Codes: | SBA / KSBA |
Airport Name: | Santa Barbara Airport |
Location: | Santa Barbara, California, United States |
GPS Coordinates: | 34°25'33"N by 119°50'25"W |
Area Served: | Santa Barbara, California |
Operator/Owner: | City of Santa Barbara |
Airport Type: | Public |
Elevation: | 10 feet (3 meters) |
# of Runways: | 3 |
View all routes: | Routes from SBA |
More Information: | SBA Maps & Info |
Arrival Airport Information:
IATA / ICAO Codes: | CMU / AYCH |
Airport Name: | Chimbu Airport |
Location: | Kundiawa, Papua New Guinea |
GPS Coordinates: | 6°1'27"S by 144°58'13"E |
Operator/Owner: | Government |
Airport Type: | Public |
Elevation: | 4974 feet (1,516 meters) |
# of Runways: | 1 |
View all routes: | Routes from CMU |
More Information: | CMU Maps & Info |
Facts about Santa Barbara Airport (SBA):
- As airplane manufacturing grew in the late 1930s that airstrip developed into an airfield.
- The largest passenger jet currently serving Santa Barbara is the Airbus A319 operated by Frontier Airlines nonstop to Denver.
- Santa Barbara's aviation history began in 1914 when Lincoln J.
- Santa Barbara Airport (SBA) has 3 runways.
- In the 1951 war film Flying Leathernecks, John Wayne's character was stationed in Goleta.
- American Airlines started nonstop McDonnell Douglas MD-80s to Dallas Fort-Worth International in 1984, sometimes on a triangle routing of DFW-Burbank-SBA-DFW or DFW-Bakersfield-SBA-DFW.
- Because of Santa Barbara Airport's relatively low elevation of 10 feet, planes can take off or land at Santa Barbara 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 Barbara Airport (SBA) is Santa Ynez Airport (SQA), which is located only 18 miles (29 kilometers) NW of SBA.
- The furthest airport from Santa Barbara Airport (SBA) is Pierrefonds Airport (ZSE), which is located 11,487 miles (18,486 kilometers) away in Saint-Pierre, Réunion.
- There are two fixed based operators on the field, Signature Flight Support and Atlantic Aviation, and three flight schools, Above All Aviation, Red Baron Aviation, and Spitfire Aviation.
Facts about Chimbu Airport (CMU):
- The furthest airport from Chimbu Airport (CMU) is Governador Carlos Wilson Airport (FEN), which is located 11,731 miles (18,879 kilometers) away in Fernando de Noronha, Pernambuco, Brazil.
- Because of Chimbu Airport's high elevation of 4,974 feet, planes must typically fly at a faster airspeed in order to takeoff or land at CMU. Combined with a high temperature, this could make CMU a "Hot & High" airport, where the air density is lower than it would otherwise be at sea level.
- Chimbu Airport (CMU) currently has only 1 runway.
- The closest airport to Chimbu Airport (CMU) is Goroka Airport (GKA), which is located 29 miles (47 kilometers) E of CMU.