Nonstop flight route between Santa Maria, Portugal and Kill Devil Hills, North Carolina, United States:
Departure Airport:

Arrival Airport:

Distance from SMA to FFA:
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- About this route
- SMA Airport Information
- FFA Airport Information
- Facts about SMA
- Facts about FFA
- Map of Nearest Airports to SMA
- List of Nearest Airports to SMA
- Map of Furthest Airports from SMA
- List of Furthest Airports from SMA
- Map of Nearest Airports to FFA
- List of Nearest Airports to FFA
- Map of Furthest Airports from FFA
- List of Furthest Airports from FFA
About this route:
A direct, nonstop flight between Santa Maria Airport (SMA), Santa Maria, Portugal and First Flight Airport (FFA), Kill Devil Hills, North Carolina, United States would travel a Great Circle distance of 2,772 miles (or 4,461 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 First Flight 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 First Flight Airport. You'll see that it will travel the same route of the red line on this map!
Departure Airport Information:
IATA / ICAO Codes: | SMA / LPAZ |
Airport Names: |
|
Location: | Santa Maria, Portugal |
GPS Coordinates: | 36°58'26"N by 25°10'15"W |
Area Served: | Vila do Porto |
Operator/Owner: | Government of Portugal |
Airport Type: | Public |
Elevation: | 308 feet (94 meters) |
# of Runways: | 1 |
View all routes: | Routes from SMA |
More Information: | SMA Maps & Info |
Arrival Airport Information:
IATA / ICAO Codes: | FFA / KFFA |
Airport Name: | First Flight Airport |
Location: | Kill Devil Hills, North Carolina, United States |
GPS Coordinates: | 36°1'5"N by 75°40'17"W |
Area Served: | Kill Devil Hills, North Carolina |
Operator/Owner: | U.S. National Park Service |
Airport Type: | Public |
Elevation: | 13 feet (4 meters) |
# of Runways: | 1 |
View all routes: | Routes from FFA |
More Information: | FFA Maps & Info |
Facts about Santa Maria Airport (SMA):
- Santa Maria Airport (SMA) currently has only 1 runway.
- Santa Maria Airport handled 93,436 passengers last year.
- 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.
- In addition to being known as "Santa Maria Airport", another name for SMA is "Aeroporto de Santa Maria".
- The closest airport to Santa Maria Airport (SMA) is João Paulo II Airport (PDL), which is located 60 miles (97 kilometers) NNW of SMA.
- 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 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.
Facts about First Flight Airport (FFA):
- The closest airport to First Flight Airport (FFA) is Dare County Regional Airport (MEO), which is located only 7 miles (11 kilometers) S of FFA.
- On December 17, 1903 the first successful powered heavier-than-air aircraft flight occurred here, conducted by the Wright brothers.
- Because of First Flight Airport's relatively low elevation of 13 feet, planes can take off or land at First Flight 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 First Flight Airport (FFA) is Margaret River Airport (MGV), which is located 11,810 miles (19,007 kilometers) away in Margaret River, Western Australia, Australia.
- First Flight Airport is a public use airport located one nautical mile west of the central business district of Kill Devil Hills, a town in Dare County, North Carolina, United States.
- First Flight Airport (FFA) currently has only 1 runway.
- First Flight Airport covers an area of 40 acres at an elevation of 13 feet above mean sea level.