Nonstop flight route between Santa Maria, California, United States and Quinhagak, Alaska, United States:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Santa Maria Public Airport (SMX), Santa Maria, California, United States and Quinhagak Airport (KWN), Quinhagak, Alaska, United States would travel a Great Circle distance of 2,520 miles (or 4,055 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 Quinhagak 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 Quinhagak 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 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.
• Santa Maria Public Airport (SMX) has 2 runways.
• A 4,000-square-foot baggage claim facility opened in 2007.
• 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.
• 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.
• 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".
• 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.

Facts about Quinhagak Airport (KWN):

• The closest airport to Quinhagak Airport (KWN) is Eek Airport (EEK), which is located 32 miles (52 kilometers) NNW of KWN.
• Quinhagak Airport (KWN) currently has only 1 runway.
• Because of Quinhagak Airport's relatively low elevation of 42 feet, planes can take off or land at Quinhagak 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 Quinhagak Airport (KWN) is Cape Town International Airport (CPT), which is located 10,655 miles (17,148 kilometers) away in Cape Town, South Africa.
• In addition to being known as "Quinhagak Airport", other names for KWN include "Kwinhagak Airport" and "AQH".