Nonstop flight route between Santa Maria, California, United States and Cortez, Colorado, United States:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Santa Maria Public Airport (SMX), Santa Maria, California, United States and Cortez Municipal Airport (CEZ), Cortez, Colorado, United States would travel a Great Circle distance of 680 miles (or 1,095 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 relatively short distance between Santa Maria Public Airport and Cortez Municipal Airport, the route shown on this map most likely still appears to be a straight line.

Departure Airport Information:

Arrival Airport Information:

Facts about Santa Maria Public Airport (SMX):

• 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.
• 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.
• 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.
• 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".
• The first airline to serve Santa Maria was Southwest Airways operating Douglas DC-3 prop aircraft.
• A 4,000-square-foot baggage claim facility opened in 2007.

Facts about Cortez Municipal Airport (CEZ):

• The closest airport to Cortez Municipal Airport (CEZ) is Animas Air Park (AMK), which is located 42 miles (68 kilometers) E of CEZ.
• Because of Cortez Municipal Airport's high elevation of 5,918 feet, planes must typically fly at a faster airspeed in order to takeoff or land at CEZ. Combined with a high temperature, this could make CEZ a "Hot & High" airport, where the air density is lower than it would otherwise be at sea level.
• The furthest airport from Cortez Municipal Airport (CEZ) is Sir Gaëtan Duval Airport (RRG), which is located 11,132 miles (17,915 kilometers) away in Rodrigues Island, Mauritius.
• A Lockheed U-2 reconnaissance aircraft made an emergency nighttime forced landing August 3, 1959, at the Cortez Municipal Airport.
• Federal Aviation Administration records say the airport had 8,401 passenger boardings in calendar year 2008, 7,698 in 2009 and 6,342 in 2010.
• Cortez Municipal Airport (CEZ) currently has only 1 runway.