Nonstop flight route between Île Sainte-Marie, Madagascar and Nordholz, Germany:
Departure Airport:

Arrival Airport:

Distance from SMS to FCN:
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- About this route
- SMS Airport Information
- FCN Airport Information
- Facts about SMS
- Facts about FCN
- Map of Nearest Airports to SMS
- List of Nearest Airports to SMS
- Map of Furthest Airports from SMS
- List of Furthest Airports from SMS
- Map of Nearest Airports to FCN
- List of Nearest Airports to FCN
- Map of Furthest Airports from FCN
- List of Furthest Airports from FCN
About this route:
A direct, nonstop flight between Sainte Marie Airport (SMS), Île Sainte-Marie, Madagascar and Nordholz Naval Airbase (FCN), Nordholz, Germany would travel a Great Circle distance of 5,469 miles (or 8,801 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 Sainte Marie Airport and Nordholz Naval Airbase, 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 Sainte Marie Airport and Nordholz Naval Airbase. You'll see that it will travel the same route of the red line on this map!
Departure Airport Information:
IATA / ICAO Codes: | SMS / FMMS |
Airport Name: | Sainte Marie Airport |
Location: | Île Sainte-Marie, Madagascar |
GPS Coordinates: | 17°5'38"S by 49°48'56"E |
Area Served: | Sainte Marie, Analanjirofo, Madagascar |
Airport Type: | Public |
Elevation: | 7 feet (2 meters) |
# of Runways: | 1 |
View all routes: | Routes from SMS |
More Information: | SMS Maps & Info |
Arrival Airport Information:
IATA / ICAO Codes: | FCN / ETMN |
Airport Names: |
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Location: | Nordholz, Germany |
GPS Coordinates: | 53°46'4"N by 8°39'36"E |
Operator/Owner: | German Navy |
Airport Type: | Military |
Elevation: | 74 feet (23 meters) |
# of Runways: | 1 |
View all routes: | Routes from FCN |
More Information: | FCN Maps & Info |
Facts about Sainte Marie Airport (SMS):
- Because of Sainte Marie Airport's relatively low elevation of 7 feet, planes can take off or land at Sainte Marie 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 Sainte Marie Airport (SMS) is Guerrero Negro Airport (GUB), which is located 11,161 miles (17,962 kilometers) away in Guerrero Negro, Baja California Sur, Mexico.
- The closest airport to Sainte Marie Airport (SMS) is Toamasino Airport (TMM), which is located 76 miles (122 kilometers) SSW of SMS.
- Sainte Marie Airport (SMS) currently has only 1 runway.
Facts about Nordholz Naval Airbase (FCN):
- In addition to being known as "Nordholz Naval Airbase", another name for FCN is "(Advanced Landing Ground R-56)".
- Nordholz currently operates a mix of Lockheed P-3C Orions, Mk88A Sea Lynx, Mk41 Sea King and the Dornier Do 228NG.
- Nordholz Naval Airbase (FCN) currently has only 1 runway.
- The closest airport to Nordholz Naval Airbase (FCN) is Bremerhaven Airport (BRV), which is located only 18 miles (30 kilometers) S of FCN.
- Situated to the north of Bremen city, Marinefliegerhorst Nordholz is the home of the German Navy's Marinefliegergeschwader 3 "Graf Zeppelin".
- The furthest airport from Nordholz Naval Airbase (FCN) is Chatham Islands (CHT), which is located 11,711 miles (18,847 kilometers) away in Waitangi, Chatham Islands, New Zealand.
- Because of Nordholz Naval Airbase's relatively low elevation of 74 feet, planes can take off or land at Nordholz Naval Airbase 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.
- During World War I Nordholz served as the principal airship base for the Imperial German Navy.