Nonstop flight route between Santa Barbara, California, United States and Nairobi, Kenya:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Santa Barbara Airport (SBA), Santa Barbara, California, United States and Wilson Airport (WIL), Nairobi, Kenya would travel a Great Circle distance of 9,698 miles (or 15,608 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 Wilson 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 Wilson 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 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.
• 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.
• 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.
• It is near the University of California, Santa Barbara and the city of Goleta.
• 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 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.
• 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.

Facts about Wilson Airport (WIL):

• The furthest airport from Wilson Airport (WIL) is Atuona Airport (AUQ), which is located 11,619 miles (18,698 kilometers) away in Atuona, Marquesas Islands, French Polynesia.
• The airport was established in 1933 as Nairobi Aerodrome and was used by Imperial Airways Empire air mail services from the United Kingdom via Egypt and continuing in stages to South Africa.
• Wilson Airport (WIL) has 2 runways.
• The closest airport to Wilson Airport (WIL) is Jomo Kenyatta International Airport (NBO), which is located only 8 miles (12 kilometers) E of WIL.
• Wilson Airport, is in Nairobi County, in the city of Nairobi, the capital of Kenya and the largest metropolitan centre in that country.
• Because of Wilson Airport's high elevation of 5,546 feet, planes must typically fly at a faster airspeed in order to takeoff or land at WIL. Combined with a high temperature, this could make WIL a "Hot & High" airport, where the air density is lower than it would otherwise be at sea level.