Nonstop flight route between Santa Maria, Portugal and Richmond, Virginia, United States:
Departure Airport:

Arrival Airport:

Distance from SMA to RIC:
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- About this route
- SMA Airport Information
- RIC Airport Information
- Facts about SMA
- Facts about RIC
- 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 RIC
- List of Nearest Airports to RIC
- Map of Furthest Airports from RIC
- List of Furthest Airports from RIC
About this route:
A direct, nonstop flight between Santa Maria Airport (SMA), Santa Maria, Portugal and Richmond International Airport (RIC), Richmond, Virginia, United States would travel a Great Circle distance of 2,831 miles (or 4,555 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 Richmond International 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 Richmond International 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: | RIC / KRIC |
Airport Name: | Richmond International Airport |
Location: | Richmond, Virginia, United States |
GPS Coordinates: | 37°30'18"N by 77°19'9"W |
Area Served: | Richmond, Virginia |
Airport Type: | Public |
Elevation: | 167 feet (51 meters) |
# of Runways: | 3 |
View all routes: | Routes from RIC |
More Information: | RIC Maps & Info |
Facts about Santa Maria Airport (SMA):
- 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.
- 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.
- 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.
- 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 handled 93,436 passengers last year.
- The closest airport to Santa Maria Airport (SMA) is João Paulo II Airport (PDL), which is located 60 miles (97 kilometers) NNW of SMA.
- In addition to being known as "Santa Maria Airport", another name for SMA is "Aeroporto de Santa Maria".
Facts about Richmond International Airport (RIC):
- In 2004, Richmond International Airport handled over 57,000 tons of cargo.
- Richmond International Airport handled 3,311,747 passengers last year.
- Because of Richmond International Airport's relatively low elevation of 167 feet, planes can take off or land at Richmond International 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 Richmond International Airport (RIC) is A.P. Hill Army Airfield (APH), which is located 39 miles (63 kilometers) N of RIC.
- In 2007, the airport served 3,634,544 passengers, a record for the airport.
- Richmond International Airport (RIC) has 3 runways.
- The furthest airport from Richmond International Airport (RIC) is Margaret River Airport (MGV), which is located 11,698 miles (18,827 kilometers) away in Margaret River, Western Australia, Australia.
- The airport was dedicated as Richard Evelyn Byrd Flying Field in 1927 in honor of aviator Richard E.