Nonstop flight route between Santa Monica, California, United States and Nanyuki, Kenya:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Santa Monica Airport (SMO), Santa Monica, California, United States and Nanyuki Airfield (NYK), Nanyuki, Kenya would travel a Great Circle distance of 9,605 miles (or 15,457 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 Nanyuki Airfield, 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 Nanyuki Airfield. 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):

• 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.
• In 2015, the City of Santa Monica's settlement agreement with the FAA concerning the airport expires.
• In addition to being known as "Santa Monica Airport", other names for SMO include "Santa Monica Municipal Airport" and "Clover Field".
• In 1958, Donald Douglas asked the city to lengthen the airport's runway so that Douglas Aircraft could produce and test the DC-8 there.
• Santa Monica Airport (SMO) currently has only 1 runway.
• 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.
• Operational Limitations – Touch-and-go, stop-and-go, and low approaches are prohibited on weekends, holidays, and weekdays from one-half hour after sunset until 7 am the following day.
• 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.
• Night Departure Curfew – No takeoffs or engine starts are permitted between 11 pm and 7 am Monday through Friday, or until 8 am on weekends.

Facts about Nanyuki Airfield (NYK):

• In addition to being known as "Nanyuki Airfield", another name for NYK is "Nanyuki Airport".
• The furthest airport from Nanyuki Airfield (NYK) is Atuona Airport (AUQ), which is located 11,705 miles (18,838 kilometers) away in Atuona, Marquesas Islands, French Polynesia.
• Nanyuki Airfield (NYK) currently has only 1 runway.
• The closest airport to Nanyuki Airfield (NYK) is Jomo Kenyatta International Airport (NBO), which is located 87 miles (140 kilometers) S of NYK.
• Located on the western foot hills of Mount Kenya, it lies only 8 kilometres, south of the Equator.
• In the early 1990s the airfield became home to Tropic Air Kenya — a small air charter company operating single-engine Cessna aircraft and helicopters.
• Because of Nanyuki Airfield's high elevation of 6,250 feet, planes must typically fly at a faster airspeed in order to takeoff or land at NYK. Combined with a high temperature, this could make NYK a "Hot & High" airport, where the air density is lower than it would otherwise be at sea level.