Nonstop flight route between Santa Maria, California, United States and General Pico, La Pampa, Argentina:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Santa Maria Public Airport (SMX), Santa Maria, California, United States and General Pico Airport (GPO), General Pico, La Pampa, Argentina would travel a Great Circle distance of 6,092 miles (or 9,804 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 General Pico 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 General Pico 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 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.
• The airport was built by the United States Army during World War II, known as Santa Maria Army Air Field.
• 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.
• 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.
• Other enhancements include a new passenger terminal holding room that opened February 2008.
• 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.
• In addition to being known as "Santa Maria Public Airport", another name for SMX is "Capt. G. Allan Hancock FieldSanta Maria Army Airfield".

Facts about General Pico Airport (GPO):

• General Pico Airport (GPO) currently has only 1 runway.
• The furthest airport from General Pico Airport (GPO) is Jining Qufu Airport (JNG), which is nearly antipodal to General Pico Airport (meaning General Pico Airport is almost on the exact opposite side of the Earth from Jining Qufu Airport), and is located 12,408 miles (19,969 kilometers) away in Jining, Shandong, China.
• Because of General Pico Airport's relatively low elevation of 456 feet, planes can take off or land at General Pico 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 "General Pico Airport", another name for GPO is "Aeropuerto de General Pico".
• The closest airport to General Pico Airport (GPO) is Santa Rosa Airport (RSA), which is located 68 miles (110 kilometers) SSW of GPO.