Nonstop flight route between Santa Maria, California, United States and Lalibela, Ethiopia:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Santa Maria Public Airport (SMX), Santa Maria, California, United States and Lalibela Airport (LLI), Lalibela, Ethiopia would travel a Great Circle distance of 8,930 miles (or 14,371 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 Lalibela 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 Lalibela 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):

• Santa Maria Public Airport (SMX) has 2 runways.
• 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.
• 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.
• 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".
• 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.
• The original Allan Hancock Field was established in 1927 at another location, between Jones Street to the north, Stowell Road to the south, Bradley Road to the east and Miller Street to the west.

Facts about Lalibela Airport (LLI):

• On 14 March 1975, Douglas C-47 ET-ABR of Ethiopian Airlines was destroyed on the ground during a clash with rebels.
• Lalibela Airport (LLI) currently has only 1 runway.
• The Lalibela Airport resides at an elevation of 1,958 metres above mean sea level.
• The main runway was rebuilt in 1997 at a cost of 53 million birr.
• The closest airport to Lalibela Airport (LLI) is Debre Tabor Airport (DBT), which is located 67 miles (107 kilometers) W of LLI.
• The furthest airport from Lalibela Airport (LLI) is Atuona Airport (AUQ), which is nearly antipodal to Lalibela Airport (meaning Lalibela Airport is almost on the exact opposite side of the Earth from Atuona Airport), and is located 12,233 miles (19,687 kilometers) away in Atuona, Marquesas Islands, French Polynesia.
• Because of Lalibela Airport's high elevation of 6,424 feet, planes must typically fly at a faster airspeed in order to takeoff or land at LLI. Combined with a high temperature, this could make LLI a "Hot & High" airport, where the air density is lower than it would otherwise be at sea level.