Nonstop flight route between Santa Maria, California, United States and Palanga, Lithuania:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Santa Maria Public Airport (SMX), Santa Maria, California, United States and Palanga Airport (PLQ), Palanga, Lithuania would travel a Great Circle distance of 5,763 miles (or 9,275 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 Palanga 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 Palanga 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.
• 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 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.
• A 4,000-square-foot baggage claim facility opened in 2007.
• Santa Maria Public Airport (SMX) has 2 runways.

Facts about Palanga Airport (PLQ):

• In addition to being known as "Palanga Airport", another name for PLQ is "Palangos oro uostas".
• Busiest airports by passenger traffic in the Baltic States
• The furthest airport from Palanga Airport (PLQ) is Chatham Islands (CHT), which is located 11,296 miles (18,179 kilometers) away in Waitangi, Chatham Islands, New Zealand.
• Infrastructure improvements continued in 2007 with the construction of North terminal to expand the terminals' area by 2000 m2 as well as to comply with Schengen border crossing regimen.
• The closest airport to Palanga Airport (PLQ) is Klaipėda Airport (KLJ), which is located only 19 miles (31 kilometers) SSE of PLQ.
• Since 1993, the number of passengers passing through the airport has been increasing annually.
• Palanga Airport (PLQ) currently has only 1 runway.
• Because of Palanga Airport's relatively low elevation of 33 feet, planes can take off or land at Palanga 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.