Nonstop flight route between Santa Barbara, California, United States and Funafuti, Tuvalu:
Departure Airport:

Arrival Airport:

Distance from SBA to FUN:
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- About this route
- SBA Airport Information
- FUN Airport Information
- Facts about SBA
- Facts about FUN
- 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 FUN
- List of Nearest Airports to FUN
- Map of Furthest Airports from FUN
- List of Furthest Airports from FUN
About this route:
A direct, nonstop flight between Santa Barbara Airport (SBA), Santa Barbara, California, United States and Funafuti International Airport (FUN), Funafuti, Tuvalu would travel a Great Circle distance of 4,962 miles (or 7,985 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 Funafuti International 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 Funafuti International 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: | FUN / NGFU |
Airport Name: | Funafuti International Airport |
Location: | Funafuti, Tuvalu |
GPS Coordinates: | 8°31'30"S by 179°11'47"E |
Airport Type: | Public |
Elevation: | 9 feet (3 meters) |
# of Runways: | 1 |
View all routes: | Routes from FUN |
More Information: | FUN Maps & Info |
Facts about Santa Barbara Airport (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.
- In the 1951 war film Flying Leathernecks, John Wayne's character was stationed in Goleta.
- 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 largest passenger jet currently serving Santa Barbara is the Airbus A319 operated by Frontier Airlines nonstop to Denver.
- In addition to regularly scheduled flights offered by other airlines, Surf Air operates service to Burbank and San Carlos in California using seven seat Pilatus PC-12 turboprops via a membership only, pay-as-you-fly program.
- The closest airport to Santa Barbara Airport (SBA) is Santa Ynez Airport (SQA), which is located only 18 miles (29 kilometers) NW of SBA.
- Until 2002 Santa Barbara Airport was on a mainline jet aircraft route between San Francisco and Los Angeles.
- With the outbreak of WWII the airport became MCAS Santa Barbara in 1942, an aviator training base for the U.S Marines.
- Santa Barbara Airport (SBA) has 3 runways.
Facts about Funafuti International Airport (FUN):
- Because of Funafuti International Airport's relatively low elevation of 9 feet, planes can take off or land at Funafuti International 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.
- Up to 1999 Air Marshall Islands operated a Hawker Siddeley HS 748 with a passenger load of 55.
- Funafuti International Airport (FUN) currently has only 1 runway.
- In November 2013 the World Bank approved US$6.06 million in finance for the existing Tuvalu Aviation Investment Project for the purpose of improving operational safety and oversight of international air transport and associated infrastructure at Funafuti International Airport.
- The furthest airport from Funafuti International Airport (FUN) is Tamale Airport (TML), which is nearly antipodal to Funafuti International Airport (meaning Funafuti International Airport is almost on the exact opposite side of the Earth from Tamale Airport), and is located 12,365 miles (19,900 kilometers) away in Tamale, Northern Region, Ghana.
- The airport is at an elevation of 9 feet above mean sea level.
- The closest airport to Funafuti International Airport (FUN) is Arorae Island Airport (AIS), which is located 440 miles (708 kilometers) NNW of FUN.
- Funafuti Airport was built by United States Navy Seabee construction battalions in 1943 during World War II.