Nonstop flight route between Santa Barbara, California, United States and Sand Island, Midway Atoll, United States:
Departure Airport:

Arrival Airport:

Distance from SBA to MDY:
Share this route:
Jump to:
- About this route
- SBA Airport Information
- MDY Airport Information
- Facts about SBA
- Facts about MDY
- 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 MDY
- List of Nearest Airports to MDY
- Map of Furthest Airports from MDY
- List of Furthest Airports from MDY
About this route:
A direct, nonstop flight between Santa Barbara Airport (SBA), Santa Barbara, California, United States and Henderson Field (MDY), Sand Island, Midway Atoll, United States would travel a Great Circle distance of 3,379 miles (or 5,438 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 Henderson Field, 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 Henderson Field. 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: | MDY / PMDY |
Airport Name: | Henderson Field |
Location: | Sand Island, Midway Atoll, United States |
GPS Coordinates: | 28°12'5"N by 177°22'53"W |
Area Served: | Midway Atoll |
Operator/Owner: | U.S. Dept. of the Interior Fish and Wildlife Service |
Airport Type: | Public |
Elevation: | 18 feet (5 meters) |
# of Runways: | 1 |
View all routes: | Routes from MDY |
More Information: | MDY Maps & Info |
Facts about Santa Barbara Airport (SBA):
- In the 1980s Apollo Airways, a commuter airline based in Santa Barbara that changed its name to Pacific Coast Airlines, flew Handley Page HP.137 Jetstreams from the airport.
- Santa Barbara Airport (SBA) has 3 runways.
- 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 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.
- As airplane manufacturing grew in the late 1930s that airstrip developed into an airfield.
- 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.
Facts about Henderson Field (MDY):
- Because of Henderson Field's relatively low elevation of 18 feet, planes can take off or land at Henderson Field 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.
- Henderson Field is a public airport located on Sand Island in Midway Atoll, an unincorporated territory of the United States.
- The airfield was previously served by Aloha Airlines with scheduled weekly charter flghts to and from Honolulu utilizing a Boeing 737-200 jetliner.
- The furthest airport from Henderson Field (MDY) is Lüderitz Airport (LUD), which is located 11,656 miles (18,759 kilometers) away in Luderitz, Namibia.
- Henderson Field (MDY) currently has only 1 runway.
- The closest airport to Henderson Field (MDY) is Johnston Atoll Airport (JON), which is located 937 miles (1,508 kilometers) SE of MDY.