Nonstop flight route between Santa Maria, Portugal and Vieques, Puerto Rico, United States:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Santa Maria Airport (SMA), Santa Maria, Portugal and Antonio Rivera Rodríguez Airport (VQS), Vieques, Puerto Rico, United States would travel a Great Circle distance of 2,764 miles (or 4,448 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 Antonio Rivera Rodríguez 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 Antonio Rivera Rodríguez 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 (SMA) currently has only 1 runway.
• 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 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 handled 93,436 passengers last year.
• 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".
• The closest airport to Santa Maria Airport (SMA) is João Paulo II Airport (PDL), which is located 60 miles (97 kilometers) NNW of SMA.

Facts about Antonio Rivera Rodríguez Airport (VQS):

• The airport does not accept jet aircraft, but a couple of international flights operate from it.
• As per Federal Aviation Administration records, the airport had 21,517 passenger boardings in calendar year 2008, 20,759 enplanements in 2009, and 46,267 in 2010.
• Antonio Rivera Rodríguez Airport (VQS) currently has only 1 runway.
• The closest airport to Antonio Rivera Rodríguez Airport (VQS) is Diego Jiménez Torres Airport (FAJ), which is located only 16 miles (26 kilometers) NW of VQS.
• The furthest airport from Antonio Rivera Rodríguez Airport (VQS) is Barrow Island Airport (BWB), which is nearly antipodal to Antonio Rivera Rodríguez Airport (meaning Antonio Rivera Rodríguez Airport is almost on the exact opposite side of the Earth from Barrow Island Airport), and is located 12,239 miles (19,697 kilometers) away in Barrow Island, Western Australia, Australia.
• Early in 2005, plans were announced to expand the airport's lone runway, so that the airport can accept flights by smaller jets.
• Antonio Rivera Rodríguez Airport handled 165,043 passengers last year.
• Because of Antonio Rivera Rodríguez Airport's relatively low elevation of 49 feet, planes can take off or land at Antonio Rivera Rodríguez 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.