Nonstop flight route between San Diego, California, United States and Luqa, Malta:
Departure Airport:

Arrival Airport:

Distance from SDM to MLA:
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- About this route
- SDM Airport Information
- MLA Airport Information
- Facts about SDM
- Facts about MLA
- Map of Nearest Airports to SDM
- List of Nearest Airports to SDM
- Map of Furthest Airports from SDM
- List of Furthest Airports from SDM
- Map of Nearest Airports to MLA
- List of Nearest Airports to MLA
- Map of Furthest Airports from MLA
- List of Furthest Airports from MLA
About this route:
A direct, nonstop flight between Brown Field Municipal Airport (SDM), San Diego, California, United States and Malta International Airport (MLA), Luqa, Malta would travel a Great Circle distance of 6,762 miles (or 10,882 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 Brown Field Municipal Airport and Malta International 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 Brown Field Municipal Airport and Malta International Airport. You'll see that it will travel the same route of the red line on this map!
Departure Airport Information:
IATA / ICAO Codes: | SDM / KSDM |
Airport Name: | Brown Field Municipal Airport |
Location: | San Diego, California, United States |
GPS Coordinates: | 32°34'19"N by 116°58'49"W |
Area Served: | San Diego, California |
Operator/Owner: | City of San Diego |
Airport Type: | Public |
Elevation: | 526 feet (160 meters) |
# of Runways: | 2 |
View all routes: | Routes from SDM |
More Information: | SDM Maps & Info |
Arrival Airport Information:
IATA / ICAO Codes: | MLA / LMML |
Airport Names: |
|
Location: | Luqa, Malta |
GPS Coordinates: | 35°51'27"N by 14°28'38"E |
Area Served: | Malta |
Operator/Owner: | Malta International Airport plc |
Airport Type: | Public |
Elevation: | 300 feet (91 meters) |
# of Runways: | 2 |
View all routes: | Routes from MLA |
More Information: | MLA Maps & Info |
Facts about Brown Field Municipal Airport (SDM):
- Brown Field Municipal Airport (SDM) has 2 runways.
- Tijuana Airport, an airline airport, is just over 1 nmi to the south across the Mexico-United States border, with a similar length and a slightly different runway orientation.
- In 1951 the Navy reopened Brown Field due to increased military activity from the Korean War.
- Because of Brown Field Municipal Airport's relatively low elevation of 526 feet, planes can take off or land at Brown Field Municipal 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 Brown Field Municipal Airport (SDM) is Tijuana International Airport (TIJ), which is located only 2 miles (4 kilometers) SSE of SDM.
- The furthest airport from Brown Field Municipal Airport (SDM) is Sir Gaëtan Duval Airport (RRG), which is located 11,551 miles (18,590 kilometers) away in Rodrigues Island, Mauritius.
- In 1946 the Navy decommissioned Brown Field and turned it over to San Diego County.
Facts about Malta International Airport (MLA):
- Malta International Airport is the only airport in Malta and it serves the whole Maltese Archipelago.
- In addition to being known as "Malta International Airport", other names for MLA include "Luqa Airport" and "Valletta Airport".
- Because of Malta International Airport's relatively low elevation of 300 feet, planes can take off or land at Malta International 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.
- Malta International Airport handled 405,200 passengers last year.
- The MetOffice is able to get information from the Agencia Estatal de Meteorología in Madrid and the UK's Met Office along with numerical weather models such as those provided by the European Centre for Medium-Range Weather Forecasts in Reading, England.
- This refurbishment was not enough as it still lacked certain essential facilities.
- The airport is located 5 km southwest of the capital, Valletta.
- The foundation stone of the present air terminal was laid in September 1989 and inaugurated in record time 29 months later in February 1992.
- The closest airport to Malta International Airport (MLA) is Xewkija / Gozo Heliport (GZM), which is located only 16 miles (26 kilometers) NW of MLA.
- The furthest airport from Malta International Airport (MLA) is Chatham Islands (CHT), which is located 11,639 miles (18,731 kilometers) away in Waitangi, Chatham Islands, New Zealand.
- Malta International Airport (MLA) has 2 runways.
- Shops at the airport include news kiosk, florist and tax-free outlets, Food and Beverage outlets.