Nonstop flight route between Santa Maria, California, United States and Concepción, Bío Bío Region, Chile:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Santa Maria Public Airport (SMX), Santa Maria, California, United States and Carriel Sur International Airport (CCP), Concepción, Bío Bío Region, Chile would travel a Great Circle distance of 5,813 miles (or 9,355 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 Carriel Sur International 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 Carriel Sur International 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):

• 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.
• 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.
• 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.
• A runway extension opened on May 3, 2012, from 6,304 ft.
• Santa Maria Public Airport (SMX) has 2 runways.
• 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.
• The airport was built by the United States Army during World War II, known as Santa Maria Army Air Field.

Facts about Carriel Sur International Airport (CCP):

• Because of Carriel Sur International Airport's relatively low elevation of 26 feet, planes can take off or land at Carriel Sur International 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 Carriel Sur International Airport (CCP) is Qingyang Airport (IQN), which is nearly antipodal to Carriel Sur International Airport (meaning Carriel Sur International Airport is almost on the exact opposite side of the Earth from Qingyang Airport), and is located 12,360 miles (19,891 kilometers) away in Qingyang, Gansu, China.
• In addition to being known as "Carriel Sur International Airport", another name for CCP is "Aeropuerto Internacional Carriel Sur (Concepción)".
• The closest airport to Carriel Sur International Airport (CCP) is General Bernardo O'Higgins Airport (YAI), which is located 59 miles (94 kilometers) ENE of CCP.
• Although plans of building an airport near Concepción date back to 1954, construction began only in 1960, shortly after the 22 May earthquake, as it became imperative to count with a modern airport to link Chile's south-central region with the rest of the country.