Nonstop flight route between Santa Maria, Portugal and Ailinglaplap Atoll, Marshall Islands:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Santa Maria Airport (SMA), Santa Maria, Portugal and Ailinglaplap Atoll (AIP), Ailinglaplap Atoll, Marshall Islands would travel a Great Circle distance of 9,241 miles (or 14,872 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 Maria Airport and Ailinglaplap Atoll, 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 Maria Airport and Ailinglaplap Atoll. 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 Maria Airport (SMA):

• The airport at Santa Maria was part of a larger complex of buildings and infrastructures constructed in the 20th century.
• For a while, Air France's supersonic Concordes were routed to Santa Maria on refueling layovers between Paris and Caracas.
• The furthest airport from Santa Maria Airport (SMA) is Moruya Airport (MYA), which is nearly antipodal to Santa Maria Airport (meaning Santa Maria Airport is almost on the exact opposite side of the Earth from Moruya Airport), and is located 12,166 miles (19,579 kilometers) away in Moruya, New South Wales, Australia.
• Santa Maria Airport (SMA) currently has only 1 runway.
• The closest airport to Santa Maria Airport (SMA) is João Paulo II Airport (PDL), which is located 60 miles (97 kilometers) NNW of SMA.
• In addition to being known as "Santa Maria Airport", another name for SMA is "Aeroporto de Santa Maria".
• Santa Maria Airport handled 93,436 passengers last year.
• Because of Santa Maria Airport's relatively low elevation of 308 feet, planes can take off or land at Santa Maria 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.

Facts about Ailinglaplap Atoll (AIP):

• Ailinglaplap Atoll was claimed by the Empire of Germany along with the rest of the Marshall Islands in 1884.
• The furthest airport from Ailinglaplap Atoll (AIP) is RAF Ascension (ASI), which is nearly antipodal to Ailinglaplap Atoll (meaning Ailinglaplap Atoll is almost on the exact opposite side of the Earth from RAF Ascension), and is located 12,218 miles (19,663 kilometers) away in Georgetown, Ascension Island, Saint Helena.
• Ailinglaplap or Ailinglapalap is a coral atoll of 56 islands in the Pacific Ocean, and forms a legislative district of the Ralik Chain in the Marshall Islands.
• The closest airport to Ailinglaplap Atoll (AIP) is Woja Airport (WJA), which is located only 14 miles (23 kilometers) WNW of AIP.