Nonstop flight route between Santa Maria, California, United States and Pago Pago, American Samoa:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Santa Maria Public Airport (SMX), Santa Maria, California, United States and Pago Pago International Airport (PPG), Pago Pago, American Samoa would travel a Great Circle distance of 4,730 miles (or 7,612 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 Pago Pago 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 Pago Pago 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):

• 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".
• A 4,000-square-foot baggage claim facility opened in 2007.
• 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.
• 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.
• Santa Maria Public Airport (SMX) has 2 runways.

Facts about Pago Pago International Airport (PPG):

• A weekly cargo flight from Honolulu, Hawaii is provided by Asia Pacific Airlines
• The furthest airport from Pago Pago International Airport (PPG) is Zinder Airport (ZND), which is nearly antipodal to Pago Pago International Airport (meaning Pago Pago International Airport is almost on the exact opposite side of the Earth from Zinder Airport), and is located 12,396 miles (19,950 kilometers) away in Zinder, Niger.
• The Departure and Arrival terminal also went through a major expansion in the mid-1970s where buildings and space was doubled in size to handle more passengers.
• The airfield was first utilized on March 19, 1942 by U.S.
• South Pacific jet services between Sydney, Auckland, Honolulu and Papeete were first offered by Pan American World Airways in 1964 using Boeing 707 aircraft.
• Pago Pago International Airport (PPG) has 2 runways.
• Because of Pago Pago International Airport's relatively low elevation of 32 feet, planes can take off or land at Pago Pago 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 closest airport to Pago Pago International Airport (PPG) is Ofu Airport (OFU), which is located 69 miles (112 kilometers) E of PPG.