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

Arrival Airport:

Distance from SBA to RAB:
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- About this route
- SBA Airport Information
- RAB Airport Information
- Facts about SBA
- Facts about RAB
- 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 RAB
- List of Nearest Airports to RAB
- Map of Furthest Airports from RAB
- List of Furthest Airports from RAB
About this route:
A direct, nonstop flight between Santa Barbara Airport (SBA), Santa Barbara, California, United States and Rabaul Airport (RAB), Rabaul, Papua New Guinea would travel a Great Circle distance of 6,262 miles (or 10,077 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 Rabaul 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 Rabaul 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: | RAB / AYTK |
Airport Names: |
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Location: | Rabaul, Papua New Guinea |
GPS Coordinates: | 4°20'25"S by 152°22'45"E |
Operator/Owner: | Government |
Airport Type: | Public |
Elevation: | 32 feet (10 meters) |
# of Runways: | 1 |
View all routes: | Routes from RAB |
More Information: | RAB Maps & Info |
Facts about Santa Barbara Airport (SBA):
- 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.
- Airline flights began in 1932 on Pacific Seaboard Airlines.
- 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.
- 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.
Facts about Rabaul Airport (RAB):
- A volcano eruption closed the airport for a day in 2006.
- In addition to being known as "Rabaul Airport", another name for RAB is "Tokua Airport".
- The closest airport to Rabaul Airport (RAB) is Namatanai Airport (ATN), which is located 47 miles (75 kilometers) N of RAB.
- The furthest airport from Rabaul Airport (RAB) is Governador Carlos Wilson Airport (FEN), which is located 11,780 miles (18,959 kilometers) away in Fernando de Noronha, Pernambuco, Brazil.
- Because of Rabaul Airport's relatively low elevation of 32 feet, planes can take off or land at Rabaul 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.
- Rabaul Airport (RAB) currently has only 1 runway.