Nonstop flight route between Santa Maria, Portugal and Phalaborwa, South Africa:
Departure Airport:
Arrival Airport:
Distance from SMA to PHW:
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- About this route
- SMA Airport Information
- PHW Airport Information
- Facts about SMA
- Facts about PHW
- 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 PHW
- List of Nearest Airports to PHW
- Map of Furthest Airports from PHW
- List of Furthest Airports from PHW
About this route:
A direct, nonstop flight between Santa Maria Airport (SMA), Santa Maria, Portugal and Hendrik Van Eck Airport (PHW), Phalaborwa, South Africa would travel a Great Circle distance of 5,579 miles (or 8,978 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 Hendrik Van Eck 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 Hendrik Van Eck 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: | PHW / FAPH |
Airport Names: |
|
Location: | Phalaborwa, South Africa |
GPS Coordinates: | 23°56'12"S by 31°9'18"E |
Area Served: | Phalaborwa, South Africa |
Airport Type: | Public |
Elevation: | 1432 feet (436 meters) |
# of Runways: | 1 |
View all routes: | Routes from PHW |
More Information: | PHW Maps & Info |
Facts about Santa Maria Airport (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.
- The closest airport to Santa Maria Airport (SMA) is João Paulo II Airport (PDL), which is located 60 miles (97 kilometers) NNW of SMA.
- 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.
- Santa Maria Airport handled 93,436 passengers last year.
- 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.
- In addition to being known as "Santa Maria Airport", another name for SMA is "Aeroporto de Santa Maria".
- Santa Maria Airport (SMA) currently has only 1 runway.
Facts about Hendrik Van Eck Airport (PHW):
- The closest airport to Hendrik Van Eck Airport (PHW) is Air Force Base Hoedspruit (HDS), which is located 30 miles (48 kilometers) SSW of PHW.
- Hendrik Van Eck Airport (PHW) currently has only 1 runway.
- The furthest airport from Hendrik Van Eck Airport (PHW) is Hilo International Airport (ITO), which is located 11,944 miles (19,222 kilometers) away in Hilo, Hawaii, United States.
- In addition to being known as "Hendrik Van Eck Airport", another name for PHW is "Phalaborwa Airport".