Nonstop flight route between Santa Maria, California, United States and Erenhot, Inner Mongolia, China:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Santa Maria Public Airport (SMX), Santa Maria, California, United States and Erenhot Saiwusu International Airport (ERL), Erenhot, Inner Mongolia, China would travel a Great Circle distance of 6,095 miles (or 9,809 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 Erenhot Saiwusu 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 Erenhot Saiwusu 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):

• Santa Maria Public Airport (SMX) has 2 runways.
• 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.
• 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.
• After the war Santa Barbara County and the city of Santa Maria acquired the land and facilities through two grants in 1948.
• The extended primary runway at Santa Maria is paved to 8,004 feet, giving the airport the longest civil runway between Los Angeles and San Francisco on the central coast and Vandenberg AFB's runway are longer).
• 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.
• A runway extension opened on May 3, 2012, from 6,304 ft.
• In addition to being known as "Santa Maria Public Airport", another name for SMX is "Capt. G. Allan Hancock FieldSanta Maria Army Airfield".
• 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.
• 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.

Facts about Erenhot Saiwusu International Airport (ERL):

• The furthest airport from Erenhot Saiwusu International Airport (ERL) is Almirante Marcos A. Zar Airport (REL), which is nearly antipodal to Erenhot Saiwusu International Airport (meaning Erenhot Saiwusu International Airport is almost on the exact opposite side of the Earth from Almirante Marcos A. Zar Airport), and is located 12,304 miles (19,802 kilometers) away in Trelew, Chubut, Argentina.
• The closest airport to Erenhot Saiwusu International Airport (ERL) is Hohhot Baita International Airport (HET), which is located 178 miles (287 kilometers) S of ERL.
• In addition to being known as "Erenhot Saiwusu International Airport", other names for ERL include "二连浩特赛乌苏国际机场" and "Èrliánhàotè Sàiwūsū Guójì Jīchǎng".