Nonstop flight route between Santa Maria, Portugal and Mafeteng, Lesotho:
Departure Airport:
(36°58'26"N by 25°10'15"W)
Arrival Airport:
(29°48'2"S by 27°14'35"E)
Distance from SMA to MFC:
5,726.49 miles (9,215.88 km)
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- About this route
- SMA Airport Information
- MFC Airport Information
- Facts about SMA
- Facts about MFC
- 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 MFC
- List of Nearest Airports to MFC
- Map of Furthest Airports from MFC
- List of Furthest Airports from MFC
About this route:
A direct, nonstop flight between Santa Maria Airport (SMA), Santa Maria, Portugal and Mafeteng Airport (MFC), Mafeteng, Lesotho would travel a Great Circle distance of 5,726 miles (or 9,216 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 Mafeteng 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 Mafeteng 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: | MFC / FXMF |
| Airport Name: | Mafeteng Airport |
| Location: | Mafeteng, Lesotho |
| GPS Coordinates: | 29°48'2"S by 27°14'35"E |
| Area Served: | Mafeteng |
| Airport Type: | Public |
| Elevation: | 5350 feet (1,631 meters) |
| # of Runways: | 1 |
| View all routes: | Routes from MFC |
| More Information: | MFC Maps & Info |
Facts about Santa Maria Airport (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.
- 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.
- 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 closest airport to Santa Maria Airport (SMA) is João Paulo II Airport (PDL), which is located 60 miles (97 kilometers) NNW of SMA.
- It has one runway which is 3,048 m × 60 m.
- In addition to being known as "Santa Maria Airport", another name for SMA is "Aeroporto de Santa Maria".
Facts about Mafeteng Airport (MFC):
- Because of Mafeteng Airport's high elevation of 5,350 feet, planes must typically fly at a faster airspeed in order to takeoff or land at MFC. Combined with a high temperature, this could make MFC a "Hot & High" airport, where the air density is lower than it would otherwise be at sea level.
- Mafeteng Airport (MFC) currently has only 1 runway.
- The furthest airport from Mafeteng Airport (MFC) is Kalaupapa Airport (LUP), which is located 11,788 miles (18,971 kilometers) away in Kalaupapa, Hawaii, United States.
- The closest airport to Mafeteng Airport (MFC) is Moshoeshoe I International Airport (MSU), which is located 30 miles (48 kilometers) NE of MFC.
| Rank | Distance & Direction | Airport Name & IATA Code | Airport Location | Further Actions |
| 1 | 60.44 miles (97.26 km) NNW | João Paulo II Airport (PDL) | Ponta Delgada, Azores, Portugal |     |
| 2 | 161.94 miles (260.61 km) NW | Lajes Air Base (TER) | Lajes, Azores, Portugal | |
| 3 | 209.34 miles (336.90 km) WNW | Pico Airport (PIX) | Pico Island, Azores, Portugal | |
| 4 | 213.54 miles (343.67 km) NW | Graciosa Airport (GRW) | Graciosa Island, Azores, Portugal | |
| 5 | 221.17 miles (355.94 km) WNW | Horta International Airport (HOR) | Horta, Azores, Portugal | |
| 6 | 366.19 miles (589.32 km) WNW | Flores Airport (FLW) | Flores Island, Azores, Portugal | |
| 7 | 371.97 miles (598.63 km) WNW | Corvo Airport (CVU) | Corvo Island, Azores, Portugal | |
| 8 | 560.01 miles (901.25 km) ESE | Madeira Airport (FNC) | Funchal, Madeira, Portugal | |
| 9 | 566.98 miles (912.46 km) ESE | Porto Santo Airport (PXO) | Porto Santo, Madeira, Portugal | |
| 10 | 719.25 miles (1,157.51 km) SE | La Palma Airport (SPC) | La Palma, Canary Islands, Spain | |
| 11 | 771.87 miles (1,242.20 km) SE | La Gomera Airport (GMZ) | Alajeró / San Sebastián, Canary Islands, Spain | |
| 12 | 778.68 miles (1,253.16 km) SE | Tenerife North Airport (TFN) | Tenerife, Canary Islands, Spain | |
| 13 | 793.97 miles (1,277.77 km) SE | Tenerife-South Airport (TFS) | Tenerife, Canary Islands, Spain | |
| 14 | 844.99 miles (1,359.87 km) SE | Gran Canaria Airport (LPA) | Las Palmas, Canary Islands, Spain | |
| 15 | 869.00 miles (1,398.51 km) SE | Lanzarote Airport (ACE) | Arrecife, Canary Islands, Spain | |
| Rank | Distance & Direction | Airport Name & IATA Code | Airport Location | Further Actions |
| 1 | 12,166.03 miles (19,579.28 km) ESE | Moruya Airport (MYA) | Moruya, New South Wales, Australia | |
| 2 | 12,164.68 miles (19,577.11 km) E | Merimbula Airport (MIM) | Merimbula, New South Wales, Australia | |
| 3 | 12,155.61 miles (19,562.50 km) SE | Illawarra Regional Airport (WOL) | Shellharbour, Wollongong, New South Wales, Australia | |
| 4 | 12,143.59 miles (19,543.17 km) SE | Sydney (Kingsford Smith) Airport (SYD) | Mascot (near Sydney), Australia | |
| 5 | 12,135.02 miles (19,529.37 km) SE | Bankstown Airport (BWU) | Bankstown (near Sydney), New South Wales, Australia | |
| 6 | 12,128.04 miles (19,518.13 km) SE | Camden Aerodrome (CDU) | Camden, New South Wales, Australia | |
| 7 | 12,113.81 miles (19,495.24 km) ESE | Goulburn Airport (GUL) | Goulburn, New South Wales, Australia | |
| 8 | 12,112.40 miles (19,492.97 km) SE | Belmont Airport (BEO) | Newcastle, New South Wales, Australia | |
| 9 | 12,102.07 miles (19,476.35 km) ESE | Canberra Airport (CBR) | Canberra, Australia | |
| 10 | 12,101.93 miles (19,476.12 km) SSE | Newcastle Airport (NTL) | Newcastle, New South Wales, Australia | |
| 11 | 12,086.58 miles (19,451.41 km) SE | Cessnock Airport (CES) | Cessnock, New South Wales, Australia | |
| 12 | 12,086.22 miles (19,450.83 km) SSE | Maitland Airport (MTL) | Maitland, New South Wales, Australia | |
| 13 | 12,054.69 miles (19,400.10 km) SE | Bathurst Airport (BHS) | Bathurst, New South Wales, Australia | |
| 14 | 12,047.90 miles (19,389.17 km) E | Corryong Airport (CYG) | Corryong, Victoria, Australia | |
| 15 | 12,038.04 miles (19,373.30 km) SSE | Port Macquarie Airport (PQQ) | Port Macquarie, New South Wales, Australia | |
| Rank | Distance & Direction | Airport Name & IATA Code | Airport Location | Further Actions |
| 1 | 29.87 miles (48.07 km) NE | Moshoeshoe I International Airport (MSU) | Maseru, Lesotho | |
| 2 | 49.02 miles (78.90 km) E | Semonkong Airport (SOK) | Semonkong, Lesotho | |
| 3 | 66.86 miles (107.59 km) E | Lesobeng Airport (LES) | Lesobeng, Lesotho | |
| 4 | 74.70 miles (120.22 km) NW | Bloemfontein International Airport (BFN) | Bloemfontein, Free State, South Africa | |
| 5 | 81.50 miles (131.17 km) NE | Leribe Airport (LRB) | Leribe, Lesotho | |
| 6 | 84.86 miles (136.57 km) E | Lebakeng Airport (LEF) | Lebakeng, Lesotho | |
| 7 | 115.67 miles (186.15 km) ENE | Mokhotlong Airport (MKH) | Mokhotlong, Lesotho | |
| 8 | 147.60 miles (237.54 km) SE | Mthatha Airport (UTT) | Mthatha, South Africa | |
| 9 | 164.58 miles (264.87 km) WNW | Kimberley Airport (KIM) | Kimberley, South Africa | |
| 10 | 173.30 miles (278.90 km) ENE | Ladysmith Airport (LAY) | Ladysmith, KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa | |
| 11 | 189.60 miles (305.13 km) E | Pietermaritzburg Airport (PZB) | Pietermaritzburg, South Africa | |
| 12 | 198.79 miles (319.92 km) ESE | Margate Airport (MGH) | Margate, KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa | |
| 13 | 226.04 miles (363.78 km) S | East London Airport (ELS) | East London, South Africa | |
| 14 | 232.28 miles (373.82 km) E | King Shaka International (DUR) | Durban, KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa | |
| 15 | 238.00 miles (383.02 km) NNE | Heidelberg Airport (HDB) | Heidelberg, Baden-Württemberg, Germany | |
| Rank | Distance & Direction | Airport Name & IATA Code | Airport Location | Further Actions |
| 1 | 11,787.83 miles (18,970.63 km) NNE | Kalaupapa Airport (LUP) | Kalaupapa, Hawaii, United States | |
| 2 | 11,782.27 miles (18,961.68 km) NNE | Hana Airport (HNM) | Hana, Hawaii, United States | |
| 3 | 11,781.01 miles (18,959.64 km) NNE | Molokai Airport (MKK) | Kaunakakai, Hawaii, United States | |
| 4 | 11,780.47 miles (18,958.78 km) NNE | Kahului Airport (OGG) | Kahului, Hawaii, United States | |
| 5 | 11,779.20 miles (18,956.74 km) NNE | Kapalua Airport (JHM) | Lahaina, Hawaii, United States | |
| 6 | 11,775.68 miles (18,951.08 km) NNE | Dillingham Airfield (HDH) | Mokuleia, Hawaii, United States | |
| 7 | 11,774.90 miles (18,949.83 km) NNE | Wheeler AAF (HHI) | Wahiawa, Hawaii, United States | |
| 8 | 11,768.35 miles (18,939.28 km) NNE | Honolulu International Airport (HNL) | Honolulu, Hawaii, United States | |
| 9 | 11,768.35 miles (18,939.28 km) NNE | Hickam Field (HIK) | Honolulu, Hawaii, United States | |
| 10 | 11,768.07 miles (18,938.83 km) NE | Princeville Airport (HPV) | Hanalei, Hawaii, United States | |
| 11 | 11,763.19 miles (18,930.97 km) NNE | Kalaeloa Airport (NAX) | Kapolei, Hawaii, United States | |
| 12 | 11,761.21 miles (18,927.78 km) NNE | Lanai Airport (LNY) | Lanai City, Hawaii, United States | |
| 13 | 11,759.15 miles (18,924.47 km) NE | Lihue Airport (LIH) | Lihue, Hawaii, United States | |
| 14 | 11,750.01 miles (18,909.77 km) NNE | Upolu Airport (UPP) | Hawi, Hawaii, United States | |
| 15 | 11,744.75 miles (18,901.30 km) NE | Port Allen Airport (PAK) | Hanapepe, Hawaii, United States | |