Nonstop flight route between Santa Maria, California, United States and Cork, Ireland:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Santa Maria Public Airport (SMX), Santa Maria, California, United States and Cork Airport (ORK), Cork, Ireland would travel a Great Circle distance of 5,176 miles (or 8,330 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 Cork 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 Cork 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):

• In addition to being known as "Santa Maria Public Airport", another name for SMX is "Capt. G. Allan Hancock FieldSanta Maria Army Airfield".
• 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.
• 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.
• After the war Santa Barbara County and the city of Santa Maria acquired the land and facilities through two grants in 1948.
• Santa Maria Public Airport (SMX) has 2 runways.

Facts about Cork Airport (ORK):

• Cork Airport (ORK) has 2 runways.
• From its opening in 1961 the airport was managed by the Department of Transport and Power, now the Department of Transport.
• In addition to being known as "Cork Airport", another name for ORK is "Aerfort Chorcaí".
• The Irish Aviation Authority completed a new control tower 1 km from the old terminal to the west of the main runway.
• Because of Cork Airport's relatively low elevation of 502 feet, planes can take off or land at Cork 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.
• Cork Airport handled 2,340,141 passengers last year.
• The plans calls for the main runway 17/35 to be extended, which would allow for long–haul aircraft such as the Boeing 747 and Airbus A380 at the airport.
• The closest airport to Cork Airport (ORK) is Bantry Aerodrome (BYT), which is located 44 miles (71 kilometers) WSW of ORK.
• The furthest airport from Cork Airport (ORK) is Ryan's Creek Aerodrome (SZS), which is nearly antipodal to Cork Airport (meaning Cork Airport is almost on the exact opposite side of the Earth from Ryan's Creek Aerodrome), and is located 12,063 miles (19,413 kilometers) away in Stewart Island, New Zealand.
• Along with the construction of the terminal, roads were upgraded from single to dual carriageway and re-aligned, a new short term multi-storey car park constructed and key services enhanced to the highest international standards.