Nonstop flight route between Santa Maria, California, United States and Niigata, Japan:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Santa Maria Public Airport (SMX), Santa Maria, California, United States and Niigata Airport (KIJ), Niigata, Japan would travel a Great Circle distance of 5,280 miles (or 8,497 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 Niigata 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 Niigata 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):

• After the war Santa Barbara County and the city of Santa Maria acquired the land and facilities through two grants in 1948.
• Santa Maria Public Airport (SMX) has 2 runways.
• In addition to being known as "Santa Maria Public Airport", another name for SMX is "Capt. G. Allan Hancock FieldSanta Maria Army Airfield".
• 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 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.
• Santa Maria Public Airport is three miles south of Santa Maria, in northern Santa Barbara County, California.
• Other enhancements include a new passenger terminal holding room that opened February 2008.
• 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.

Facts about Niigata Airport (KIJ):

• The closest airport to Niigata Airport (KIJ) is Shonai Airport (SYO), which is located 70 miles (112 kilometers) NNE of KIJ.
• Niigata Airport was historically an important gateway for traffic to and from Russia, with scheduled service to Khabarovsk since 1973 and Vladivostok since 1993, which among other purposes were used to export Niigata-area agricultural products to Russia.
• Scheduled "limousine bus" service is provided to and from Niigata Station every 20 minutes and heavily subsidized by Niigata Prefecture.
• Because of Niigata Airport's relatively low elevation of 5 feet, planes can take off or land at Niigata 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.
• Niigata Airport (KIJ) has 2 runways.
• In addition to being known as "Niigata Airport", other names for KIJ include "新潟空港" and "Niigata Kūkō".
• The furthest airport from Niigata Airport (KIJ) is Rio Grande Regional Airport (RIG), which is located 11,682 miles (18,800 kilometers) away in Rio Grande, Brazil.