Nonstop flight route between Santa Maria, California, United States and Helsinki / Malmi, Finland:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Santa Maria Public Airport (SMX), Santa Maria, California, United States and Helsinki-Malmi Airport (HEM), Helsinki / Malmi, Finland would travel a Great Circle distance of 5,577 miles (or 8,975 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 Helsinki-Malmi 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 Helsinki-Malmi 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):

• 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.
• 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.
• 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.
• A 4,000-square-foot baggage claim facility opened in 2007.
• 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.
• 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 Helsinki-Malmi Airport (HEM):

• During the war, bigger and heavier aircraft had been developed, and after the war the aircraft industry and commercial aviation business flourished.
• The closest airport to Helsinki-Malmi Airport (HEM) is Helsinki Airport (HEL), which is located only 5 miles (8 kilometers) NNW of HEM.
• Helsinki-Malmi Airport (HEM) has 2 runways.
• In addition to being known as "Helsinki-Malmi Airport", another name for HEM is "Helsinki-Malmin lentoasemaHelsingfors-Malm flygplats".
• The Winter War interrupted civil aviation at Malmi, and the Airport was taken over by the Finnish Air Force.
• Because of Helsinki-Malmi Airport's relatively low elevation of 57 feet, planes can take off or land at Helsinki-Malmi 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.
• For a long time, the City of Helsinki has had plans to close the airport in order to use the area for construction of new residential zones, but this decision had been debated and deferred for many years.
• Helsinki-Malmi Airport handled 50 passengers last year.
• The furthest airport from Helsinki-Malmi Airport (HEM) is Chatham Islands (CHT), which is located 10,992 miles (17,691 kilometers) away in Waitangi, Chatham Islands, New Zealand.
• The Ministry of Transport and Communications ordered in June 2005 from the Civil Aviation Administration a new assessment of the alternatives and costs.
• On 25 March 2014, the Finnish government made a framework decision in principle to close down Malmi Airport and hand it over to residential use by the early 2020s.