Nonstop flight route between Santa Maria, California, United States and Horta, Azores, Portugal:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Santa Maria Public Airport (SMX), Santa Maria, California, United States and Horta International Airport (HOR), Horta, Azores, Portugal would travel a Great Circle distance of 4,858 miles (or 7,819 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 Horta 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 Horta 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):

• 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).
• The first airline to serve Santa Maria was Southwest Airways operating Douglas DC-3 prop aircraft.
• A 4,000-square-foot baggage claim facility opened in 2007.
• 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.
• 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.
• In addition to being known as "Santa Maria Public Airport", another name for SMX is "Capt. G. Allan Hancock FieldSanta Maria Army Airfield".
• Santa Maria Public Airport (SMX) has 2 runways.

Facts about Horta International Airport (HOR):

• The airport at Horta was inaugurated on August 24, 1971 by then President Almirante Américo Tomás.
• The closest airport to Horta International Airport (HOR) is Pico Airport (PIX), which is located only 15 miles (24 kilometers) E of HOR.
• On the afternoon of 28 July 2011, a refurbished control tower was inaugurated, which permitted the airport to oversee the Central Group, as well as the Western Group of islands.
• Horta International Airport (HOR) currently has only 1 runway.
• Horta International Airport handled 191,969 passengers last year.
• In addition to being known as "Horta International Airport", another name for HOR is "Aeroporto Internacional da Horta".
• The furthest airport from Horta International Airport (HOR) is Merimbula Airport (MIM), which is nearly antipodal to Horta International Airport (meaning Horta International Airport is almost on the exact opposite side of the Earth from Merimbula Airport), and is located 12,302 miles (19,799 kilometers) away in Merimbula, New South Wales, Australia.
• Because of Horta International Airport's relatively low elevation of 118 feet, planes can take off or land at Horta International 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.