Nonstop flight route between Santa Maria, California, United States and Arutua, Tuamotus, French Polynesia:
Departure Airport:

Arrival Airport:

Distance from SMX to AXR:
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- About this route
- SMX Airport Information
- AXR Airport Information
- Facts about SMX
- Facts about AXR
- Map of Nearest Airports to SMX
- List of Nearest Airports to SMX
- Map of Furthest Airports from SMX
- List of Furthest Airports from SMX
- Map of Nearest Airports to AXR
- List of Nearest Airports to AXR
- Map of Furthest Airports from AXR
- List of Furthest Airports from AXR
About this route:
A direct, nonstop flight between Santa Maria Public Airport (SMX), Santa Maria, California, United States and Arutua Airport (AXR), Arutua, Tuamotus, French Polynesia would travel a Great Circle distance of 3,866 miles (or 6,222 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 Arutua 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 Arutua Airport. You'll see that it will travel the same route of the red line on this map!
Departure Airport Information:
IATA / ICAO Codes: | SMX / KSMX |
Airport Names: |
|
Location: | Santa Maria, California, United States |
GPS Coordinates: | 34°53'56"N by 120°27'26"W |
Area Served: | Santa Maria, California |
Operator/Owner: | Santa Maria Public Airport District |
Airport Type: | Public |
Elevation: | 261 feet (80 meters) |
# of Runways: | 2 |
View all routes: | Routes from SMX |
More Information: | SMX Maps & Info |
Arrival Airport Information:
IATA / ICAO Codes: | AXR / NTGU |
Airport Name: | Arutua Airport |
Location: | Arutua, Tuamotus, French Polynesia |
GPS Coordinates: | 15°14'47"S by 146°37'13"W |
View all routes: | Routes from AXR |
More Information: | AXR Maps & Info |
Facts about Santa Maria Public Airport (SMX):
- 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 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.
- During its use by the military Santa Maria AAF also controlled Estrella Army Airfield, near Paso Robles as an auxiliary airfield to support the pilot training activity.
- Besides the current Allegiant jet service, SkyWest Airlines operating as United Express via a code sharing agreement with United Airlines flies Embraer EMB-120 Brasilia turboprops and sometimes Bombardier CRJ-200 Regional Jet nonstop to Los Angeles that served the airport for many years.
- 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.
- In addition to being known as "Santa Maria Public Airport", another name for SMX is "Capt. G. Allan Hancock FieldSanta Maria Army Airfield".
- Santa Maria Public Airport (SMX) has 2 runways.
Facts about Arutua Airport (AXR):
- The closest airport to Arutua Airport (AXR) is Apataki Airport (APK), which is located 26 miles (42 kilometers) SSE of AXR.
- The furthest airport from Arutua Airport (AXR) is Khartoum International Airport (KRT), which is nearly antipodal to Arutua Airport (meaning Arutua Airport is almost on the exact opposite side of the Earth from Khartoum International Airport), and is located 12,377 miles (19,919 kilometers) away in Khartoum, Sudan.