Nonstop flight route between Santa Maria, California, United States and Dresden, Germany:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Santa Maria Public Airport (SMX), Santa Maria, California, United States and Dresden Airport (DRS), Dresden, Germany would travel a Great Circle distance of 5,875 miles (or 9,456 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 Dresden 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 Dresden 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):

• A runway extension opened on May 3, 2012, from 6,304 ft.
• Santa Maria Public Airport (SMX) has 2 runways.
• In addition to being known as "Santa Maria Public Airport", another name for SMX is "Capt. G. Allan Hancock FieldSanta Maria Army Airfield".
• After the war Santa Barbara County and the city of Santa Maria acquired the land and facilities through two grants in 1948.
• 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.
• At one point during the early 1980's Swift Aire Lines, which was based at the nearby San Luis Obispo Airport, was the only airline flying nonstop between Santa Maria and Los Angeles, primarily with Fokker F27 Friendship turboprops which the carrier had purchased new from the manufacturer.
• 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.
• Other enhancements include a new passenger terminal holding room that opened February 2008.
• 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.

Facts about Dresden Airport (DRS):

• In 2001 the current terminal was added.
• In addition to being known as "Dresden Airport", another name for DRS is "Flughafen Dresden".
• The closest airport to Dresden Airport (DRS) is Leipzig–Altenburg Airport (AOC), which is located 56 miles (90 kilometers) W of DRS.
• The furthest airport from Dresden Airport (DRS) is Chatham Islands (CHT), which is located 11,742 miles (18,897 kilometers) away in Waitangi, Chatham Islands, New Zealand.
• Dresden Airport is home to EADS EFW, a business unit of EADS mainly responsible for freighter aircraft conversion.
• The airport is within the Verkehrsverbund Oberelbe's Dresden tariff zone, as is central Dresden, and a single ticket is valid on the S-Bahn, trams and buses within that zone.
• Dresden Airport (DRS) currently has only 1 runway.
• Dresden Airport, formerly known as Flughafen Dresden-Klotzsche in German, is the international airport of Dresden, the capital city of the Free State of Saxony in Germany.
• The airport consists of one modern passenger terminal building that features several shops, restaurants and service agencies as well as seven aircraft parking positions equipped with jet bridges and some additional apron stands for mid-sized aircraft such as the Airbus A320.
• Though planned as a commercial airport, its importance to the military increased dramatically during the following years in the Third Reich.
• Because of Dresden Airport's relatively low elevation of 754 feet, planes can take off or land at Dresden 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.