Nonstop flight route between Santa Maria, Portugal and Chartres, France:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Santa Maria Airport (SMA), Santa Maria, Portugal and Chartres - Champhol Aerodrome (QTJ), Chartres, France would travel a Great Circle distance of 1,558 miles (or 2,508 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 Chartres - Champhol Aerodrome, 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):

• Santa Maria Airport (SMA) currently has only 1 runway.
• 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.
• 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.
• 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.
• 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.
• 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.
• It has one runway which is 3,048 m × 60 m.

Facts about Chartres - Champhol Aerodrome (QTJ):

• What appears to be hangars are on the north side of the airport, about 200m north of the runway, and unconnected with the current airport were probably part of the former military airfield.
• It was reinforced by the Armée de l'Air as a military airfield after the Invasion of Poland in September 1939.
• The combat units moved out at the end of October 1944, and until the end of the war, Chartres became a resupply and combat casualty evacuation airfield, and performing other support roles for the Allies.
• The facility was a military field, prior to 1870, dedicated to cavalry.
• Chartres - Champhol Aerodrome (QTJ) has 2 runways.
• It was liberated by Allied ground forces about 21 August 1944 during the Northern France Campaign.
• In addition to being known as "Chartres - Champhol Aerodrome", other names for QTJ include "Aérodrome de Chartres - Champhol" and "Advanced Landing Ground (ALG) A-40".
• The closest airport to Chartres - Champhol Aerodrome (QTJ) is Toussus-le-Noble Airport (TNF), which is located 33 miles (54 kilometers) NE of QTJ.
• The furthest airport from Chartres - Champhol Aerodrome (QTJ) is Chatham Islands (CHT), which is nearly antipodal to Chartres - Champhol Aerodrome (meaning Chartres - Champhol Aerodrome is almost on the exact opposite side of the Earth from Chatham Islands), and is located 12,101 miles (19,475 kilometers) away in Waitangi, Chatham Islands, New Zealand.
• Chartres – Champhol Aerodrome is an airport serving Chartres and Champhol, in the Eure-et-Loir department in north-central France.
• It remains an important Air Force Base after 1953, included technical Units, a military training center and a broadcasting station.
• Because of Chartres - Champhol Aerodrome's relatively low elevation of 509 feet, planes can take off or land at Chartres - Champhol Aerodrome 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 first plane in the world took off on October, the 9th, 1890, in France, due to the engineer Clément Ader.