Nonstop flight route between Santa Maria, California, United States and La Plata, Buenos Aires, Argentina:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Santa Maria Public Airport (SMX), Santa Maria, California, United States and La Plata Airport (LPG), La Plata, Buenos Aires, Argentina would travel a Great Circle distance of 6,291 miles (or 10,124 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 La Plata 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 La Plata 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 is three miles south of Santa Maria, in northern Santa Barbara County, California.
• 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.
• Other enhancements include a new passenger terminal holding room that opened February 2008.
• 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.
• 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.
• In addition to being known as "Santa Maria Public Airport", another name for SMX is "Capt. G. Allan Hancock FieldSanta Maria Army Airfield".
• 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.

Facts about La Plata Airport (LPG):

• La Plata Airport (LPG) has 2 runways.
• In addition to being known as "La Plata Airport", another name for LPG is "Aeropuerto de La Plata".
• The closest airport to La Plata Airport (LPG) is Laguna de los Patos International Airport (CYR), which is located 36 miles (58 kilometers) N of LPG.
• The furthest airport from La Plata Airport (LPG) is Qingdao Liuting International Airport (TAO), which is nearly antipodal to La Plata Airport (meaning La Plata Airport is almost on the exact opposite side of the Earth from Qingdao Liuting International Airport), and is located 12,305 miles (19,802 kilometers) away in Qingdao, Shandong, China.
• Because of La Plata Airport's relatively low elevation of 72 feet, planes can take off or land at La Plata 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.