Nonstop flight route between Santa Maria, California, United States and Lyon, France:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Santa Maria Public Airport (SMX), Santa Maria, California, United States and Lyon–Saint Exupéry Airport (LYS), Lyon, France would travel a Great Circle distance of 5,914 miles (or 9,517 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 Lyon–Saint Exupéry 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 Lyon–Saint Exupéry 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 first airline to serve Santa Maria was Southwest Airways operating Douglas DC-3 prop aircraft.
• In addition to being known as "Santa Maria Public Airport", another name for SMX is "Capt. G. Allan Hancock FieldSanta Maria Army Airfield".
• 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.
• Allegiant Air has expanded flights between Las Vegas and Santa Maria with four nonstops per week each way.
• 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 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.
• 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 Lyon–Saint Exupéry Airport (LYS):

• Lyon–Saint Exupéry Airport (LYS) has 2 runways.
• The furthest airport from Lyon–Saint Exupéry Airport (LYS) is Chatham Islands (CHT), which is nearly antipodal to Lyon–Saint Exupéry Airport (meaning Lyon–Saint Exupéry Airport is almost on the exact opposite side of the Earth from Chatham Islands), and is located 12,284 miles (19,770 kilometers) away in Waitangi, Chatham Islands, New Zealand.
• The closest airport to Lyon–Saint Exupéry Airport (LYS) is Lyon–Bron Airport (LYN), which is located only 7 miles (11 kilometers) W of LYS.
• Coach links connect the airport with the centre of Lyon and other towns in the area including Chambéry and Grenoble.
• Lyon–Saint Exupéry Airport handled 8,451,039 passengers last year.
• Since 1997, the airport has been a focus city for the airline Air France.
• Because of Lyon–Saint Exupéry Airport's relatively low elevation of 821 feet, planes can take off or land at Lyon–Saint Exupéry 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 "Lyon–Saint Exupéry Airport", another name for LYS is "Aéroport Lyon-Saint Exupéry".