Nonstop flight route between Santa Maria, California, United States and Ipswich, England:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Santa Maria Public Airport (SMX), Santa Maria, California, United States and Ipswich Airport (IPW), Ipswich, England would travel a Great Circle distance of 5,477 miles (or 8,814 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 Ipswich 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 Ipswich 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 4,000-square-foot baggage claim facility opened in 2007.
• Santa Maria Public Airport (SMX) has 2 runways.
• 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.
• In addition to being known as "Santa Maria Public Airport", another name for SMX is "Capt. G. Allan Hancock FieldSanta Maria Army Airfield".
• 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 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.

Facts about Ipswich Airport (IPW):

• The site of Ravens Wood 147 acres was purchased by the Ipswich Corporation in 1929 with the intention of creating a municipal airport for Ipswich, with construction starting in the following year.
• The furthest airport from Ipswich Airport (IPW) is Chatham Islands (CHT), which is located 11,859 miles (19,084 kilometers) away in Waitangi, Chatham Islands, New Zealand.
• The closest airport to Ipswich Airport (IPW) is RAF Honington USAAF Station 375 (BEQ), which is located 28 miles (45 kilometers) NW of IPW.
• Ipswich Airport (IPW) has 2 runways.
• The airfield was delicensed and ceased to be registered by the Civil Aviation Authority on 31 December 1996.
• Because of Ipswich Airport's relatively low elevation of 128 feet, planes can take off or land at Ipswich 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 terminal building was designed by Hening and Chitty in 1938 and Grade 2 listed in 1996.