Nonstop flight route between Santa Maria, California, United States and N'Djamena, Chad:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Santa Maria Public Airport (SMX), Santa Maria, California, United States and N'Djamena International Airport (NDJ), N'Djamena, Chad would travel a Great Circle distance of 8,073 miles (or 12,992 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 N'Djamena International 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 N'Djamena International 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):

• Other enhancements include a new passenger terminal holding room that opened February 2008.
• A runway extension opened on May 3, 2012, from 6,304 ft.
• The first airline to serve Santa Maria was Southwest Airways operating Douglas DC-3 prop aircraft.
• 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 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.
• 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".

Facts about N'Djamena International Airport (NDJ):

• Because of N'Djamena International Airport's relatively low elevation of 968 feet, planes can take off or land at N'Djamena International 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 airport resides at an elevation of 968 feet above mean sea level.
• The closest airport to N'Djamena International Airport (NDJ) is Bol-Berim Airport (OTC), which is located 93 miles (149 kilometers) NNW of NDJ.
• N'Djamena International Airport (NDJ) currently has only 1 runway.
• The furthest airport from N'Djamena International Airport (NDJ) is Manihiki Island Airport (MHX), which is nearly antipodal to N'Djamena International Airport (meaning N'Djamena International Airport is almost on the exact opposite side of the Earth from Manihiki Island Airport), and is located 12,142 miles (19,541 kilometers) away in Manihiki Island, Cook Islands.
• There has been a French military base here since 1986, when Operation Epervier started, and was used as a French base during previous operations.
• The French base is also shared by the small Chadian Air Force.
• N'Djamena International Airport is an international airport serving N'Djamena, the capital city of Chad.