Nonstop flight route between Santa Barbara, California, United States and Plovdiv, Bulgaria:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Santa Barbara Airport (SBA), Santa Barbara, California, United States and Plovdiv Airport (PDV), Plovdiv, Bulgaria would travel a Great Circle distance of 6,699 miles (or 10,780 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 Plovdiv 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 Plovdiv Airport. 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):

• As airplane manufacturing grew in the late 1930s that airstrip developed into an airfield.
• As the prospect of war escalated the United States Government established a program to construct 250 airports across the country on a cost-sharing basis with local governments.
• Airline flights began in 1932 on Pacific Seaboard Airlines.
• Santa Barbara Airport (SBA) has 3 runways.
• The closest airport to Santa Barbara Airport (SBA) is Santa Ynez Airport (SQA), which is located only 18 miles (29 kilometers) NW of 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.
• 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.
• 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.

Facts about Plovdiv Airport (PDV):

• Plovdiv Airport handled 8,752 passengers last year.
• The furthest airport from Plovdiv Airport (PDV) is Chatham Islands (CHT), which is located 11,355 miles (18,273 kilometers) away in Waitangi, Chatham Islands, New Zealand.
• Because of Plovdiv Airport's relatively low elevation of 597 feet, planes can take off or land at Plovdiv 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.
• In addition to being known as "Plovdiv Airport", other names for PDV include "Krumovo Airport" and "Летище Пловдив".
• Domestic scheduled flights were terminated in 1980, but winter charter flights continue to increase which again leads to a relocation of ground facilities as technical buildings, power supply facilities, air traffic control tower and administrative facilities.
• Due to its location near the popular ski resorts Bansko and Pamporovo, the airport is most active during the winter season.
• Plovdiv Airport (PDV) currently has only 1 runway.
• On the west side of the airport is located 24th Helicopter Air Base of the Bulgarian Air Force, with Eurocopter AS 532, Mil Mi-24, Mil Mi-17 and Bell 206 units.
• On 13 September 1965 a new terminal building was opened, and next year an enlarged tarmac was put into use in time for winter season charter traffic.
• The closest airport to Plovdiv Airport (PDV) is Haskovo Malevo Airport (HKV), which is located 38 miles (61 kilometers) E of PDV.