Nonstop flight route between Santa Barbara, California, United States and La Palma, Canary Islands, Spain:
Departure Airport:

Arrival Airport:

Distance from SBA to SPC:
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- About this route
- SBA Airport Information
- SPC Airport Information
- Facts about SBA
- Facts about SPC
- 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 SPC
- List of Nearest Airports to SPC
- Map of Furthest Airports from SPC
- List of Furthest Airports from SPC
About this route:
A direct, nonstop flight between Santa Barbara Airport (SBA), Santa Barbara, California, United States and La Palma Airport (SPC), La Palma, Canary Islands, Spain would travel a Great Circle distance of 5,745 miles (or 9,246 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 La Palma 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 La Palma 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: | SPC / GCLA |
Airport Name: | La Palma Airport |
Location: | La Palma, Canary Islands, Spain |
GPS Coordinates: | 28°37'35"N by 17°45'20"W |
Area Served: | La Palma |
Operator/Owner: | Aeropuertos Españoles y Navegación Aérea |
Airport Type: | Public |
Elevation: | 108 feet (33 meters) |
# of Runways: | 1 |
View all routes: | Routes from SPC |
More Information: | SPC Maps & Info |
Facts about Santa Barbara Airport (SBA):
- Santa Barbara Airport (SBA) has 3 runways.
- With the outbreak of WWII the airport became MCAS Santa Barbara in 1942, an aviator training base for the U.S Marines.
- Five airlines serve the Airport as of July 2013 with non-stop flights to Denver, Los Angeles, Phoenix, Portland, San Francisco, Seattle/Tacoma.
- American Airlines started nonstop McDonnell Douglas MD-80s to Dallas Fort-Worth International in 1984, sometimes on a triangle routing of DFW-Burbank-SBA-DFW or DFW-Bakersfield-SBA-DFW.
- 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.
- 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.
- Santa Barbara Municipal Airport is a public airport 7 miles west of downtown Santa Barbara, California, United States.
Facts about La Palma Airport (SPC):
- The closest airport to La Palma Airport (SPC) is La Gomera Airport (GMZ), which is located 53 miles (85 kilometers) SE of SPC.
- Because of La Palma Airport's relatively low elevation of 108 feet, planes can take off or land at La Palma 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.
- La Palma Airport (SPC) currently has only 1 runway.
- The furthest airport from La Palma Airport (SPC) is Lord Howe Island Airport (LDH), which is nearly antipodal to La Palma Airport (meaning La Palma Airport is almost on the exact opposite side of the Earth from Lord Howe Island Airport), and is located 12,161 miles (19,570 kilometers) away in Lord Howe Island, New South Wales, Australia.