Nonstop flight route between Santa Maria, Portugal and Madurai, India:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Santa Maria Airport (SMA), Santa Maria, Portugal and Madurai Airport (IXM), Madurai, India would travel a Great Circle distance of 6,527 miles (or 10,504 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 Madurai 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 Madurai 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):

• It has one runway which is 3,048 m × 60 m.
• Santa Maria Airport is an airport located 5 km west northwest of the urbanized area of Vila do Porto on the Portuguese island of Santa Maria, in the autonomous region of the Azores.
• In addition to being known as "Santa Maria Airport", another name for SMA is "Aeroporto de Santa Maria".
• 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.
• 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.
• 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.
• 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.

Facts about Madurai Airport (IXM):

• In order to boost exports from Madurai and its surrounding districts, the Department of Revenue under the Union Ministry of Finance has issued a notification dated 28 May 2013 permitting the airport to handle cargo.
• Madurai airfield was first used by the Royal Air Force in World War II in 1942.
• The closest airport to Madurai Airport (IXM) is Tiruchirappalli International Airport (TRZ), which is located 77 miles (124 kilometers) NNE of IXM.
• The furthest airport from Madurai Airport (IXM) is Seymour Airport (GPS), which is located 11,407 miles (18,358 kilometers) away in Baltra Island, Galápagos Islands, Ecuador.
• Because of Madurai Airport's relatively low elevation of 446 feet, planes can take off or land at Madurai 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.
• Considering the growing cargo potential in Madurai Airport, AAI has decided to modify old terminal into a full fledged cargo complex.
• Madurai Airport (IXM) currently has only 1 runway.