Nonstop flight route between Santa Maria, Portugal and Biggin Hill / London, England, United Kingdom:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Santa Maria Airport (SMA), Santa Maria, Portugal and London Biggin Hill Airport (BQH), Biggin Hill / London, England, United Kingdom would travel a Great Circle distance of 1,582 miles (or 2,545 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 Santa Maria Airport and London Biggin Hill Airport, the route shown on this map most likely still appears to be a straight line.

Departure Airport Information:

Arrival Airport Information:

Facts about Santa Maria Airport (SMA):

• Santa Maria Airport handled 93,436 passengers last year.
• Along with the airports in Lisbon, Porto, Faro, Flores, Horta, Ponta Delgada and Beja, the airport's concessions to provide support to civil aviation was conceded to ANA Aeroportos de Portugal on 18 December 1998, under provisions of decree 404/98.
• The closest airport to Santa Maria Airport (SMA) is João Paulo II Airport (PDL), which is located 60 miles (97 kilometers) NNW of SMA.
• Santa Maria Airport (SMA) currently has only 1 runway.
• 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.
• 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.
• In addition to being known as "Santa Maria Airport", another name for SMA is "Aeroporto de Santa Maria".
• 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 London Biggin Hill Airport (BQH):

• Despite the effective ban on scheduled services, Biggin Hill is used by a large number of business flights by business jets and similar sized aircraft.
• Because of London Biggin Hill Airport's relatively low elevation of 599 feet, planes can take off or land at London Biggin Hill 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.
• No commercial airlines fly to Biggin Hill, as aircraft flying there are not permitted to carry fare-paying passengers.
• Biggin Hill is the location of one of the four "stacks" for aircraft landing at Heathrow Airport, and is used by aircraft approaching from the south east.
• In addition to being known as "London Biggin Hill Airport", another name for BQH is "Biggin Hill Airport".
• In 2001, the London Borough of Bromley as freeholder of the airport succeeded in an action in the Court of Appeal.
• The closest airport to London Biggin Hill Airport (BQH) is Redhill Aerodrome (KRH), which is located only 11 miles (18 kilometers) SW of BQH.
• London Biggin Hill Airport (BQH) has 2 runways.
• Between the wars, the airfield was used by a number of experimental units, working on instrument design, ground based anti-aircraft defences, and night flying.
• The furthest airport from London Biggin Hill Airport (BQH) is Chatham Islands (CHT), which is located 11,892 miles (19,139 kilometers) away in Waitangi, Chatham Islands, New Zealand.