Nonstop flight route between Santa Maria, California, United States and Cusco, Cusco Region, Peru:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Santa Maria Public Airport (SMX), Santa Maria, California, United States and Alejandro Velasco Astete International Airport (CUZ), Cusco, Cusco Region, Peru would travel a Great Circle distance of 4,614 miles (or 7,425 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 Alejandro Velasco Astete 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 Alejandro Velasco Astete 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):

• 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 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.
• Santa Maria Public Airport (SMX) has 2 runways.
• 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.
• The first airline to serve Santa Maria was Southwest Airways operating Douglas DC-3 prop aircraft.

Facts about Alejandro Velasco Astete International Airport (CUZ):

• In addition to being known as "Alejandro Velasco Astete International Airport", another name for CUZ is "Aeropuerto Internacional Alejandro Velasco Astete".
• On August 9, 1970, LANSA Flight 502, a four-engine engine Lockheed L-188A Electra turboprop, crashed shortly after takeoff from the Cusco airport, killing 99 of the 100 people on board, plus two people on the ground, in the deadliest accident in Peru's aviation history to that date.
• Alejandro Velasco Astete International Airport (CUZ) currently has only 1 runway.
• Because of Alejandro Velasco Astete International Airport's high elevation of 10,860 feet, planes must typically fly at a faster airspeed in order to takeoff or land at CUZ. Combined with a high temperature, this could make CUZ a "Hot & High" airport, where the air density is lower than it would otherwise be at sea level.
• It was named in honor of the Peruvian pilot Alejandro Velasco Astete who was the first pilot to cross the Andes in 1925.
• The furthest airport from Alejandro Velasco Astete International Airport (CUZ) is Buon Ma Thuot Airport (BMV), which is nearly antipodal to Alejandro Velasco Astete International Airport (meaning Alejandro Velasco Astete International Airport is almost on the exact opposite side of the Earth from Buon Ma Thuot Airport), and is located 12,377 miles (19,918 kilometers) away in Buon Me Thuot, Vietnam.
• The closest airport to Alejandro Velasco Astete International Airport (CUZ) is Andahuaylas Airport (ANS), which is located 95 miles (154 kilometers) W of CUZ.