Nonstop flight route between Santa Barbara, California, United States and Leeuwarden, Netherlands:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Santa Barbara Airport (SBA), Santa Barbara, California, United States and Leeuwarden Air Base (LWR), Leeuwarden, Netherlands would travel a Great Circle distance of 5,561 miles (or 8,949 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 Leeuwarden Air Base, 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 Leeuwarden Air Base. 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 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.
• The closest airport to Santa Barbara Airport (SBA) is Santa Ynez Airport (SQA), which is located only 18 miles (29 kilometers) NW of SBA.
• Santa Barbara Airport (SBA) has 3 runways.
• The Spanish-style terminal building, commissioned by United Airlines in 1942 was designed by William Edwards and Joseph Plunkett, an architectural team whose work, including the Arlington Theatre and the National Armory, helped shape the Mediterranean style of the city.
• 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.
• On August 18, 2011 the airport opened a new 72,000 square foot terminal to add to the single story terminal built by United Airlines in 1942.
• With the outbreak of WWII the airport became MCAS Santa Barbara in 1942, an aviator training base for the U.S Marines.
• 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 Leeuwarden Air Base (LWR):

• The closest airport to Leeuwarden Air Base (LWR) is Groningen Airport Eelde (GRQ), which is located 35 miles (56 kilometers) ESE of LWR.
• The airport is the location of the annual NATO exercise "Frisian Flag", and the Fighter Weapons Instructor Training.
• Because of Leeuwarden Air Base's relatively low elevation of 3 feet, planes can take off or land at Leeuwarden Air Base 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.
• Leeuwarden Air Base (LWR) has 2 runways.
• The furthest airport from Leeuwarden Air Base (LWR) is Chatham Islands (CHT), which is located 11,778 miles (18,955 kilometers) away in Waitangi, Chatham Islands, New Zealand.
• The airport of Leeuwarden was built in 1938, and originally was used as an airport between Schiphol – Eelde.
• In addition to being known as "Leeuwarden Air Base", another name for LWR is "Vliegbasis Leeuwarden".