Nonstop flight route between Santa Maria, Portugal and Cessnock, New South Wales, Australia:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Santa Maria Airport (SMA), Santa Maria, Portugal and Cessnock Airport (CES), Cessnock, New South Wales, Australia would travel a Great Circle distance of 12,087 miles (or 19,451 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 Cessnock 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 Cessnock Airport. You'll see that it will travel the same route of the red line on this map!

The distance between SMA and CES makes them almost exactly antipodal (the exact opposite side of the world) to each other. Nonstop flights between Santa Maria Airport and Cessnock Airport would be very impractical for the airlines, because only a lightly loaded Boeing 777-200LR would be able to make the trip. Since airlines need to be able to take as many people and cargo as possible in order to make a profit, the odds of ever seeing a nonstop flight between SMA and CES are slim to none. However, you'll still be able to get from Santa Maria, Portugal and Cessnock, New South Wales, Australia by taking some connecting flights!

Did you know that one full circling of the Earth (measuring from the equator) is about 24,901.5 miles (or 40,075 kilometers), which means if you were 12,450 miles from any given point on the planet, the distance back to your starting point would be about the same -- in any direction! The same can be said for a nonstop flight between SMA and CES!

Departure Airport Information:

Arrival Airport Information:

Facts about Santa Maria Airport (SMA):

• 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.
• 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.
• In addition to being known as "Santa Maria Airport", another name for SMA is "Aeroporto de Santa Maria".
• Transportes Aéreos Portugueses began lay-over flights to this airport on 7 December 1962, eventually inaugurating trans-Atlantic service between Santa Maria-New York and Santa Maria-Montreal.
• Santa Maria Airport handled 93,436 passengers last year.
• 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 Cessnock Airport (CES):

• Built by the Royal Australian Air Force in 1942 during World War II named as RAAF Base Pokolbin, as part of a system of parent and satellite aerodromes proposed throughout New South Wales.
• The closest airport to Cessnock Airport (CES) is Maitland Airport (MTL), which is located only 10 miles (17 kilometers) NE of CES.
• Cessnock Airport (CES) currently has only 1 runway.
• Because of Cessnock Airport's relatively low elevation of 211 feet, planes can take off or land at Cessnock 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 Cessnock Airport (CES) is Santa Maria Airport (SMA), which is nearly antipodal to Cessnock Airport (meaning Cessnock Airport is almost on the exact opposite side of the Earth from Santa Maria Airport), and is located 12,087 miles (19,451 kilometers) away in Santa Maria, Portugal.