Nonstop flight route between Santa Maria, California, United States and Albany, Western Australia, Australia:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Santa Maria Public Airport (SMX), Santa Maria, California, United States and Albany Airport (ALH), Albany, Western Australia, Australia would travel a Great Circle distance of 9,186 miles (or 14,783 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 Public Airport and Albany 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 Public Airport and Albany 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 Public Airport (SMX):

• In addition to being known as "Santa Maria Public Airport", another name for SMX is "Capt. G. Allan Hancock FieldSanta Maria Army Airfield".
• Because of Santa Maria Public Airport's relatively low elevation of 261 feet, planes can take off or land at Santa Maria Public 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 Public Airport (SMX) is Pierrefonds Airport (ZSE), which is located 11,466 miles (18,453 kilometers) away in Saint-Pierre, Réunion.
• The original Allan Hancock Field was established in 1927 at another location, between Jones Street to the north, Stowell Road to the south, Bradley Road to the east and Miller Street to the west.
• Santa Maria Public Airport (SMX) has 2 runways.
• The closest airport to Santa Maria Public Airport (SMX) is Vandenberg Air Force Base (VBG), which is located only 13 miles (21 kilometers) SSW of SMX.
• A runway extension opened on May 3, 2012, from 6,304 ft.
• The airport was built by the United States Army during World War II, known as Santa Maria Army Air Field.
• The first airline to serve Santa Maria was Southwest Airways operating Douglas DC-3 prop aircraft.
• Santa Maria Public Airport is three miles south of Santa Maria, in northern Santa Barbara County, California.
• Other enhancements include a new passenger terminal holding room that opened February 2008.

Facts about Albany Airport (ALH):

• The airport is equipped with an instrument landing system that enables all-weather capability for passenger transport.
• Albany Airport was ranked 57th in Australia for the number of revenue passengers served in financial year 2010-2011.
• In addition to being known as "Albany Airport", another name for ALH is "Harry Riggs Albany Regional Airport".
• Albany Airport (ALH) has 2 runways.
• The airport resides at an elevation of 233 ft above sea level.
• Albany Airport handled 56,002 passengers last year.
• Because of Albany Airport's relatively low elevation of 233 feet, planes can take off or land at Albany 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 Albany Airport (ALH) is Katanning Airport (KNI), which is located 86 miles (139 kilometers) N of ALH.
• The furthest airport from Albany Airport (ALH) is L.F. Wade International Airport (BDA), which is nearly antipodal to Albany Airport (meaning Albany Airport is almost on the exact opposite side of the Earth from L.F. Wade International Airport), and is located 12,208 miles (19,647 kilometers) away in Ferry Reach (near Hamilton), Bermuda.