Nonstop flight route between Santa Maria, California, United States and Maripasoula, French Guiana:
Departure Airport:

Arrival Airport:

Distance from SMX to MPY:
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- About this route
- SMX Airport Information
- MPY Airport Information
- Facts about SMX
- Facts about MPY
- Map of Nearest Airports to SMX
- List of Nearest Airports to SMX
- Map of Furthest Airports from SMX
- List of Furthest Airports from SMX
- Map of Nearest Airports to MPY
- List of Nearest Airports to MPY
- Map of Furthest Airports from MPY
- List of Furthest Airports from MPY
About this route:
A direct, nonstop flight between Santa Maria Public Airport (SMX), Santa Maria, California, United States and Maripasoula Airport (MPY), Maripasoula, French Guiana would travel a Great Circle distance of 4,744 miles (or 7,635 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 Maripasoula 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 Maripasoula Airport. You'll see that it will travel the same route of the red line on this map!
Departure Airport Information:
IATA / ICAO Codes: | SMX / KSMX |
Airport Names: |
|
Location: | Santa Maria, California, United States |
GPS Coordinates: | 34°53'56"N by 120°27'26"W |
Area Served: | Santa Maria, California |
Operator/Owner: | Santa Maria Public Airport District |
Airport Type: | Public |
Elevation: | 261 feet (80 meters) |
# of Runways: | 2 |
View all routes: | Routes from SMX |
More Information: | SMX Maps & Info |
Arrival Airport Information:
IATA / ICAO Codes: | MPY / SOOA |
Airport Name: | Maripasoula Airport |
Location: | Maripasoula, French Guiana |
GPS Coordinates: | 3°39'27"N by 54°2'13"W |
Area Served: | Maripasoula, French Guiana |
Operator/Owner: | Conseil Général de la Guyane |
Airport Type: | Public |
Elevation: | 377 feet (115 meters) |
# of Runways: | 1 |
View all routes: | Routes from MPY |
More Information: | MPY Maps & Info |
Facts about Santa Maria Public Airport (SMX):
- Other enhancements include a new passenger terminal holding room that opened February 2008.
- 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.
- Santa Maria Public Airport (SMX) has 2 runways.
- A runway extension opened on May 3, 2012, from 6,304 ft.
- 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 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 first airline to serve Santa Maria was Southwest Airways operating Douglas DC-3 prop aircraft.
- The extended primary runway at Santa Maria is paved to 8,004 feet, giving the airport the longest civil runway between Los Angeles and San Francisco on the central coast and Vandenberg AFB's runway are longer).
Facts about Maripasoula Airport (MPY):
- The closest airport to Maripasoula Airport (MPY) is Drietabbetje Airstrip (DRJ), which is located 54 miles (87 kilometers) NW of MPY.
- Because of Maripasoula Airport's relatively low elevation of 377 feet, planes can take off or land at Maripasoula 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.
- Maripasoula Airport (MPY) currently has only 1 runway.
- The furthest airport from Maripasoula Airport (MPY) is Namrole Airport (NRE), which is nearly antipodal to Maripasoula Airport (meaning Maripasoula Airport is almost on the exact opposite side of the Earth from Namrole Airport), and is located 12,384 miles (19,930 kilometers) away in Buru, Indonesia.