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

Arrival Airport:

Distance from SDM to PMD:
Share this route:
Jump to:
- About this route
- SDM Airport Information
- PMD Airport Information
- Facts about SDM
- Facts about PMD
- 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 PMD
- List of Nearest Airports to PMD
- Map of Furthest Airports from PMD
- List of Furthest Airports from PMD
About this route:
A direct, nonstop flight between Brown Field Municipal Airport (SDM), San Diego, California, United States and Palmdale Regional Airport (PMD), Palmdale, California, United States would travel a Great Circle distance of 156 miles (or 251 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 relatively short distance between Brown Field Municipal Airport and Palmdale Regional Airport, the route shown on this map most likely still appears to be a straight line.
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: | PMD / KPMD |
Airport Name: | Palmdale Regional Airport |
Location: | Palmdale, California, United States |
GPS Coordinates: | 34°37'45"N by 118°5'3"W |
Area Served: | Palmdale, California |
Airport Type: | Public/Military (Joint Use) |
Elevation: | 2543 feet (775 meters) |
# of Runways: | 3 |
View all routes: | Routes from PMD |
More Information: | PMD Maps & Info |
Facts about Brown Field Municipal Airport (SDM):
- On September 1, 1962 the Navy transferred ownership of Brown Field to the City of San Diego, with the condition that it remains a public airport.
- 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.
- In 1951 the Navy reopened Brown Field due to increased military activity from the Korean War.
- 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.
- 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 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.
- Brown Field Municipal Airport is in the Otay Mesa neighborhood of San Diego, California, 13 miles southeast of Downtown San Diego and named in honor of Commander Melville S.
Facts about Palmdale Regional Airport (PMD):
- The furthest airport from Palmdale Regional Airport (PMD) is Pierrefonds Airport (ZSE), which is located 11,436 miles (18,405 kilometers) away in Saint-Pierre, Réunion.
- Palmdale Regional Airport (PMD) has 3 runways.
- The closest airport to Palmdale Regional Airport (PMD) is General Wm. J. Fox Airfield (WJF), which is located only 11 miles (17 kilometers) NW of PMD.
- PMD and Plant 42 are separate facilities that share a common runway at the site.
- In 1940, Palmdale Army Airfield was activated as a United States Army Air Corps airfield for use as an emergency landing strip and for B-25 Mitchell medium bomber support training during World War II.
- The airport covers 5,832 acres at an elevation of 2,543 feet above mean sea level.
- The Blackbird Airpark Museum is an extension of the AFFTC Museum at Edwards AFB, while the Heritage Airpark is operated by the City of Palmdale.
- On February 1, 1991, USAir Flight 1493, a Boeing 737 landing on Runway 24L at LAX, collided upon touchdown with a SkyWest Airlines Fairchild Metroliner, Flight 5569 departing to Palmdale Regional Airport, that had been holding in position on the same runway.