Nonstop flight route between Santa Maria, California, United States and Nukutavake, Tuamotus, French Polynesia:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Santa Maria Public Airport (SMX), Santa Maria, California, United States and Nukutavake Airport (NUK), Nukutavake, Tuamotus, French Polynesia would travel a Great Circle distance of 3,932 miles (or 6,328 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 Nukutavake 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 Nukutavake 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 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.
• In addition to being known as "Santa Maria Public Airport", another name for SMX is "Capt. G. Allan Hancock FieldSanta Maria Army Airfield".
• At one point during the early 1980's Swift Aire Lines, which was based at the nearby San Luis Obispo Airport, was the only airline flying nonstop between Santa Maria and Los Angeles, primarily with Fokker F27 Friendship turboprops which the carrier had purchased new from the manufacturer.
• 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.
• The first airline to serve Santa Maria was Southwest Airways operating Douglas DC-3 prop aircraft.
• Santa Maria Public Airport (SMX) has 2 runways.

Facts about Nukutavake Airport (NUK):

• In addition to being known as "Nukutavake Airport", another name for NUK is "Aérodrome de Nukutavake".
• Nukutavake Airport (NUK) currently has only 1 runway.
• The closest airport to Nukutavake Airport (NUK) is Tureira Airport (ZTA), which is located 104 miles (167 kilometers) S of NUK.
• The furthest airport from Nukutavake Airport (NUK) is Al-Baha Domestic Airport (ABT), which is nearly antipodal to Nukutavake Airport (meaning Nukutavake Airport is almost on the exact opposite side of the Earth from Al-Baha Domestic Airport), and is located 12,362 miles (19,895 kilometers) away in Al-Baha, Saudi Arabia.