Nonstop flight route between Santa Maria, Portugal and Mobile, Alabama, United States:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Santa Maria Airport (SMA), Santa Maria, Portugal and Mobile Regional Airport (MOB), Mobile, Alabama, United States would travel a Great Circle distance of 3,581 miles (or 5,762 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 Mobile Regional 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 Mobile Regional 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):

• Santa Maria Airport (SMA) currently has only 1 runway.
• The closest airport to Santa Maria Airport (SMA) is João Paulo II Airport (PDL), which is located 60 miles (97 kilometers) NNW of SMA.
• 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.
• In addition to being known as "Santa Maria Airport", another name for SMA is "Aeroporto de Santa Maria".
• 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.
• 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.
• Santa Maria Airport handled 93,436 passengers last year.
• 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.

Facts about Mobile Regional Airport (MOB):

• In 2010 Northwest Airlines merged into Delta Air Lines.
• In 2006 Delta Air Lines dropped several flights from Mobile and Continental Airlines added flights.
• In addition to being known as "Mobile Regional Airport", other names for MOB include "Coast Guard Aviation Training Center Mobile" and "(former Bates Army Airfield)".
• The closest airport to Mobile Regional Airport (MOB) is Mobile Downtown Airport (BFM), which is located only 11 miles (18 kilometers) ESE of MOB.
• Mobile Regional Airport (MOB) has 2 runways.
• American Airlines served Mobile with Boeing 727-200s in the mid 1980s.
• Because of Mobile Regional Airport's relatively low elevation of 219 feet, planes can take off or land at Mobile Regional 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 Mobile Regional Airport (MOB) is Cocos (Keeling) Island Airport (CCK), which is located 11,118 miles (17,893 kilometers) away in Cocos Islands, Australia.