Nonstop flight route between Santa Maria, Portugal and Caloundra, Queensland, Australia:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Santa Maria Airport (SMA), Santa Maria, Portugal and Caloundra Airport (CUD), Caloundra, Queensland, Australia would travel a Great Circle distance of 11,727 miles (or 18,872 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 Caloundra 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 Caloundra 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):

• The airport at Santa Maria was part of a larger complex of buildings and infrastructures constructed in the 20th century.
• In addition to being known as "Santa Maria Airport", another name for SMA is "Aeroporto de Santa Maria".
• 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.
• 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.
• 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.
• For a while, Air France's supersonic Concordes were routed to Santa Maria on refueling layovers between Paris and Caracas.
• The closest airport to Santa Maria Airport (SMA) is João Paulo II Airport (PDL), which is located 60 miles (97 kilometers) NNW of SMA.

Facts about Caloundra Airport (CUD):

• Caloundra Airport (CUD) has 2 runways.
• The Queensland Air Museum was established in 1973, moving to a permanent facility at Caloundra Airport on 14 June 1986 at the invitation of the Landsborough Shire Council.
• Because of Caloundra Airport's relatively low elevation of 125 feet, planes can take off or land at Caloundra 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 Caloundra Airport (CUD) is La Palma Airport (SPC), which is located 11,864 miles (19,093 kilometers) away in La Palma, Canary Islands, Spain.
• The Queensland Institute for Aviation Engineering's main campus has been located at the airport since 2000.
• Early aircraft operations in the Caloundra area used the sandy beaches for takeoffs and landings, however as early as 1927, community groups were calling for the construction of an airport.
• The closest airport to Caloundra Airport (CUD) is Sunshine-Coast-Airport (MCY), which is located only 14 miles (22 kilometers) N of CUD.