Nonstop flight route between Santa Monica, California, United States and Lae, Papua New Guinea, Papua New Guinea:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Santa Monica Airport (SMO), Santa Monica, California, United States and Lae Nadzab Airport (LAE), Lae, Papua New Guinea, Papua New Guinea would travel a Great Circle distance of 6,747 miles (or 10,859 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 Monica Airport and Lae Nadzab 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 Monica Airport and Lae Nadzab 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 Monica Airport (SMO):

• Santa Monica Airport (SMO) currently has only 1 runway.
• In addition to being known as "Santa Monica Airport", other names for SMO include "Santa Monica Municipal Airport" and "Clover Field".
• In addition, there are numerous recommended noise abatement procedures and limitations that have been incorporated into the Airport’s Fly Neighborly Program and included in the program’s outreach materials.
• The furthest airport from Santa Monica Airport (SMO) is Pierrefonds Airport (ZSE), which is located 11,484 miles (18,481 kilometers) away in Saint-Pierre, Réunion.
• Airport Park opened as an 8.3-acre public park on non-aviation lands at the southeast corner of the Airport.
• Because of Santa Monica Airport's relatively low elevation of 177 feet, planes can take off or land at Santa Monica 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 Monica Airport (SMO) is Los Angeles International Airport (LAX), which is located only 6 miles (9 kilometers) SSE of SMO.
• Clover Field was once the site of the Army's 40th Division Aviation, 115th Observation Squadron and became a Distribution Center after World War II.

Facts about Lae Nadzab Airport (LAE):

• The airfield in Lae was operating at the same time as Nadzab but business was significantly lost to the new airport complex became fully operational in 1977.
• Because of Lae Nadzab Airport's relatively low elevation of 239 feet, planes can take off or land at Lae Nadzab 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.
• Nazdab is located twenty-seven miles NW of Lae by road 900 yds by an indefinite width.
• Lae Nadzab Airport (LAE) currently has only 1 runway.
• Two parallel runways were built, running roughly east to west.
• The furthest airport from Lae Nadzab Airport (LAE) is Governador Carlos Wilson Airport (FEN), which is located 11,714 miles (18,852 kilometers) away in Fernando de Noronha, Pernambuco, Brazil.
• The closest airport to Lae Nadzab Airport (LAE) is Bulolo Airport (BUL), which is located 45 miles (72 kilometers) S of LAE.
• In 1962, the main strip at Nadzab was resealed by the Australian Commonwealth Department of Works and lengthened to make it suitable for Mirage fighters, even though they never materialised.