Nonstop flight route between Santa Maria, Portugal and Mthatha, South Africa:
Departure Airport:

Arrival Airport:

Distance from SMA to UTT:
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- About this route
- SMA Airport Information
- UTT Airport Information
- Facts about SMA
- Facts about UTT
- 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 UTT
- List of Nearest Airports to UTT
- Map of Furthest Airports from UTT
- List of Furthest Airports from UTT
About this route:
A direct, nonstop flight between Santa Maria Airport (SMA), Santa Maria, Portugal and Mthatha Airport (UTT), Mthatha, South Africa would travel a Great Circle distance of 5,874 miles (or 9,453 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 Mthatha 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 Mthatha 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: | UTT / FAUT |
Airport Name: | Mthatha Airport |
Location: | Mthatha, South Africa |
GPS Coordinates: | 31°32'47"S by 28°40'31"E |
Area Served: | Mthatha, Eastern Cape, South Africa |
Operator/Owner: | Provincial Government |
Airport Type: | Public |
Elevation: | 2429 feet (740 meters) |
# of Runways: | 1 |
View all routes: | Routes from UTT |
More Information: | UTT 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.
- 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.
- 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.
- Santa Maria Airport (SMA) currently has only 1 runway.
- The forerunner of SATA Air Açores initiated services concurrently to São Miguel and Terceira from Santa Maria Airport on 5 August 1947, using a plane christened "Açor".
- In addition to being known as "Santa Maria Airport", another name for SMA is "Aeroporto de Santa Maria".
Facts about Mthatha Airport (UTT):
- The furthest airport from Mthatha Airport (UTT) is Kalaupapa Airport (LUP), which is located 11,642 miles (18,736 kilometers) away in Kalaupapa, Hawaii, United States.
- The closest airport to Mthatha Airport (UTT) is Margate Airport (MGH), which is located 109 miles (176 kilometers) ENE of UTT.
- Mthatha Airport (UTT) currently has only 1 runway.