Nonstop flight route between Santa Maria, Portugal and Xewkija, Gozo, Malta:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Santa Maria Airport (SMA), Santa Maria, Portugal and Xewkija / Gozo Heliport (GZM), Xewkija, Gozo, Malta would travel a Great Circle distance of 2,176 miles (or 3,502 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 relatively short distance between Santa Maria Airport and Xewkija / Gozo Heliport, the route shown on this map most likely still appears to be a straight line.

Departure Airport Information:

Arrival Airport Information:

Facts about Santa Maria Airport (SMA):

• A chartered Boeing 707-300, Independent Air Flight 1851 from Bergamo, Italy in 1989 crashed on approach to Santa Maria Airport, when it struck the Pico Alto mountain.
• 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 (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.
• In addition to being known as "Santa Maria Airport", another name for SMA is "Aeroporto de Santa Maria".
• 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.
• Santa Maria Airport handled 93,436 passengers last year.
• The airport at Santa Maria was part of a larger complex of buildings and infrastructures constructed in the 20th century.
• 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.

Facts about Xewkija / Gozo Heliport (GZM):

• The furthest airport from Xewkija / Gozo Heliport (GZM) is Chatham Islands (CHT), which is located 11,655 miles (18,758 kilometers) away in Waitangi, Chatham Islands, New Zealand.
• Xewkija / Gozo Heliport (GZM) currently has only 1 runway.
• The closest airport to Xewkija / Gozo Heliport (GZM) is Malta International Airport (MLA), which is located only 16 miles (26 kilometers) SE of GZM.
• Because of Xewkija / Gozo Heliport's relatively low elevation of 322 feet, planes can take off or land at Xewkija / Gozo Heliport 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.