Nonstop flight route between Santa Maria, California, United States and Luton (near London), England, United Kingdom:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Santa Maria Public Airport (SMX), Santa Maria, California, United States and London Luton Airport (LTN), Luton (near London), England, United Kingdom would travel a Great Circle distance of 5,437 miles (or 8,749 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 London Luton 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 London Luton 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.
• 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 first airline to serve Santa Maria was Southwest Airways operating Douglas DC-3 prop aircraft.
• A runway extension opened on May 3, 2012, from 6,304 ft.
• 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.
• In addition to being known as "Santa Maria Public Airport", another name for SMX is "Capt. G. Allan Hancock FieldSanta Maria Army Airfield".
• 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 London Luton Airport (LTN):

• In September 2004, a 9,000 sq ft area featuring a spectacular vaulted ceiling was completed with the new terminal, but intended to lie unused until required.
• The airport recently featured in the series "Supersize Grime" which focused on the cleaning of an Airbus A321 at the Monarch Aircraft Engineering Ltd hangar 127.
• In 2004 the airport management announced that they supported the government plans to expand the facilities to include a full-length runway and a new terminal.
• London Luton Airport (LTN) currently has only 1 runway.
• In the 1980s the airport was seeing a decline in customer numbers.
• The closest airport to London Luton Airport (LTN) is Hatfield Aerodrome (HTF), which is located only 9 miles (15 kilometers) SSE of LTN.
• The furthest airport from London Luton Airport (LTN) is Chatham Islands (CHT), which is located 11,851 miles (19,072 kilometers) away in Waitangi, Chatham Islands, New Zealand.
• Because of London Luton Airport's relatively low elevation of 526 feet, planes can take off or land at London Luton 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.
• London Luton Airport handled 9,697,944 passengers last year.
• Following the war, the land was returned to the local council which continued activity at the airport as a commercial operation.