Nonstop flight route between Santa Maria, Portugal and Aktau, Kazakhstan:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Santa Maria Airport (SMA), Santa Maria, Portugal and Aktau International Airport (SCO), Aktau, Kazakhstan would travel a Great Circle distance of 3,896 miles (or 6,270 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 Aktau 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 Aktau International 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 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.
• 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 airport at Santa Maria was part of a larger complex of buildings and infrastructures constructed in the 20th century.
• 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 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".
• Santa Maria Airport (SMA) currently has only 1 runway.

Facts about Aktau International Airport (SCO):

• The furthest airport from Aktau International Airport (SCO) is Totegegie Airport (GMR), which is located 10,962 miles (17,641 kilometers) away in Mangareva, Gambier Islands, French Polynesia.
• Because of Aktau International Airport's relatively low elevation of 72 feet, planes can take off or land at Aktau 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 new terminal was completed in 2009.
• There are only a few international carriers, which are flying to Aktau.
• In addition to being known as "Aktau International Airport", other names for SCO include "Ақтау халықаралық әуежайы" and "Международный аэропорт Актау".
• The closest airport to Aktau International Airport (SCO) is Makhachkala International Airport "Uytash" (MCX), which is located 187 miles (301 kilometers) WSW of SCO.
• Aktau International Airport (SCO) currently has only 1 runway.