Nonstop flight route between Santa Maria, Portugal and Kota Kinabalu, Malaysia:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Santa Maria Airport (SMA), Santa Maria, Portugal and Kota Kinabalu International Airport (BKI), Kota Kinabalu, Malaysia would travel a Great Circle distance of 8,558 miles (or 13,773 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 Kota Kinabalu 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 Santa Maria Airport and Kota Kinabalu International 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 Maria Airport (SMA):

• 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.
• Santa Maria Airport handled 93,436 passengers last year.
• It was built in the context of the Second World War, by US troops in order to maintain supply lines to Europe, and inaugurated on 26 July 1945.
• 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.
• The airport at Santa Maria was part of a larger complex of buildings and infrastructures constructed in the 20th century.
• The forerunner of SATA Air Açores initiated services concurrently to São Miguel and Terceira from Santa Maria Airport on 5 August 1947, using a plane christened "Açor".
• The closest airport to Santa Maria Airport (SMA) is João Paulo II Airport (PDL), which is located 60 miles (97 kilometers) NNW of SMA.
• A chartered Boeing 707-300, Independent Air Flight 1851 from Bergamo, Italy in 1989 crashed on approach to Santa Maria Airport, when it struck the Pico Alto mountain.
• Santa Maria Airport (SMA) currently has only 1 runway.
• In addition to being known as "Santa Maria Airport", another name for SMA is "Aeroporto de Santa Maria".

Facts about Kota Kinabalu International Airport (BKI):

• Around the 1970s to 1980s, a newer terminal building was built on the other side of the runway.
• The new Terminal 1 building has 64 check-in counters for international and domestic flights, as well as 17 aircraft parking bays capable of accommodating both wide and narrow-body aircraft.
• Because of Kota Kinabalu International Airport's relatively low elevation of 10 feet, planes can take off or land at Kota Kinabalu 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.
• Terminal 1's new wing was completed and opened for commercial use on 19 August 2008 while the other wing was closed for renovation and is expected to complete by May 2010.
• The closest airport to Kota Kinabalu International Airport (BKI) is Lapangan Terbang Keningau Keningau Airport (KGU), which is located 41 miles (67 kilometers) S of BKI.
• Kota Kinabalu International Airport (BKI) currently has only 1 runway.
• Kota Kinabalu International Airport handled 6,929,692 passengers last year.
• The furthest airport from Kota Kinabalu International Airport (BKI) is Lábrea Airport (LBR), which is nearly antipodal to Kota Kinabalu International Airport (meaning Kota Kinabalu International Airport is almost on the exact opposite side of the Earth from Lábrea Airport), and is located 12,330 miles (19,843 kilometers) away in Lábrea, Amazonas, Brazil.
• In addition to being known as "Kota Kinabalu International Airport", another name for BKI is "Lapangan Terbang Antarabangsa Kota Kinabalu".
• Kota Kinabalu International Airport serves the city of Kota Kinabalu, the state capital of Sabah, Malaysia.
• The terminal was also the first airport in Malaysia to accommodate the brand new Boeing 787 Dreamliner from Royal Brunei with demo product introductory flights commenced during November 2013 for a short period.