Nonstop flight route between Santa Maria, Portugal and Bălţi, Moldova:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Santa Maria Airport (SMA), Santa Maria, Portugal and Bălți-Leadoveni International Airport (BZY), Bălţi, Moldova would travel a Great Circle distance of 2,746 miles (or 4,419 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 Bălți-Leadoveni 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 Bălți-Leadoveni 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):

• For a while, Air France's supersonic Concordes were routed to Santa Maria on refueling layovers between Paris and Caracas.
• In addition to being known as "Santa Maria Airport", another name for SMA is "Aeroporto de Santa Maria".
• 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".
• 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.
• Santa Maria Airport handled 93,436 passengers last year.
• 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.
• 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 Bălți-Leadoveni International Airport (BZY):

• The closest airport to Bălți-Leadoveni International Airport (BZY) is Iași International Airport (IAS), which is located 46 miles (75 kilometers) S of BZY.
• In addition to being known as "Bălți-Leadoveni International Airport", another name for BZY is "Aeroportul Internațional Leadoveni".
• Bălți-Leadoveni International Airport (BZY) currently has only 1 runway.
• Because of Bălți-Leadoveni International Airport's relatively low elevation of 758 feet, planes can take off or land at Bălți-Leadoveni 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.
• As Moldova was experiencing economic crisis in the 1990s, the re-construction and modernization plans of the airport, as well as the whole aviation industry, were put on hold.
• Bălți International Airport is currently used mainly by irregular charter passenger, and more often by cargo flights.
• The furthest airport from Bălți-Leadoveni International Airport (BZY) is Chatham Islands (CHT), which is located 11,243 miles (18,093 kilometers) away in Waitangi, Chatham Islands, New Zealand.
• The construction of infrastructure for Bălți International Airport started in the 1970s-1980s, in accordance with the project of the Central Architectural Bureau.