Nonstop flight route between Santa Maria, Portugal and Fresno, California, United States:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Santa Maria Airport (SMA), Santa Maria, Portugal and Fresno Yosemite International Airport (FAT), Fresno, California, United States would travel a Great Circle distance of 4,973 miles (or 8,004 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 Fresno Yosemite 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 Fresno Yosemite 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):

• In addition to being known as "Santa Maria Airport", another name for SMA is "Aeroporto de Santa Maria".
• 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.
• 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.
• Santa Maria Airport (SMA) currently has only 1 runway.
• 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.
• 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 Fresno Yosemite International Airport (FAT):

• Fresno Yosemite International Airport handled 569,879 passengers last year.
• Fresno Yosemite International Airport (FAT) has 2 runways.
• The airfield opened in June 1942.
• Because of Fresno Yosemite International Airport's relatively low elevation of 336 feet, planes can take off or land at Fresno Yosemite 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.
• The furthest airport from Fresno Yosemite International Airport (FAT) is Pierrefonds Airport (ZSE), which is located 11,330 miles (18,234 kilometers) away in Saint-Pierre, Réunion.
• The closest airport to Fresno Yosemite International Airport (FAT) is Fresno Chandler Executive AirportChandler Municipal Airport (Old) (FCH), which is located only 6 miles (10 kilometers) WSW of FAT.
• Fresno Yosemite International Airport, formerly Fresno Air Terminal, is a joint civil-military public airport in eastern Fresno, in Fresno County, California.
• In 2011 over 1.2 million passengers traveled through Fresno Yosemite International Airport, a 6.4% increase from 2010.
• In 1995 the airport's name was changed to attract out-of-state and international visitors to Yosemite National Park.
• The most prominent airlines at Fresno are Skywest Airlines for United Express and Delta Connection, Mesa Airlines for US Airways Express, American Airlines, and Horizon Air.
• A US$30 million construction project is under way to widen, lengthen and strengthen secondary runway 11R/29L with scheduled completion in October 2012.