Nonstop flight route between Santa Maria, California, United States and Raleigh / Durham, North Carolina, United States:
Departure Airport:
Arrival Airport:
Distance from SMX to RDU:
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- About this route
- SMX Airport Information
- RDU Airport Information
- Facts about SMX
- Facts about RDU
- Map of Nearest Airports to SMX
- List of Nearest Airports to SMX
- Map of Furthest Airports from SMX
- List of Furthest Airports from SMX
- Map of Nearest Airports to RDU
- List of Nearest Airports to RDU
- Map of Furthest Airports from RDU
- List of Furthest Airports from RDU
About this route:
A direct, nonstop flight between Santa Maria Public Airport (SMX), Santa Maria, California, United States and Raleigh–Durham International Airport (RDU), Raleigh / Durham, North Carolina, United States would travel a Great Circle distance of 2,330 miles (or 3,750 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 relatively short distance between Santa Maria Public Airport and Raleigh–Durham International Airport, the route shown on this map most likely still appears to be a straight line.
Departure Airport Information:
| IATA / ICAO Codes: | SMX / KSMX |
| Airport Names: |
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| Location: | Santa Maria, California, United States |
| GPS Coordinates: | 34°53'56"N by 120°27'26"W |
| Area Served: | Santa Maria, California |
| Operator/Owner: | Santa Maria Public Airport District |
| Airport Type: | Public |
| Elevation: | 261 feet (80 meters) |
| # of Runways: | 2 |
| View all routes: | Routes from SMX |
| More Information: | SMX Maps & Info |
Arrival Airport Information:
| IATA / ICAO Codes: | RDU / KRDU |
| Airport Name: | Raleigh–Durham International Airport |
| Location: | Raleigh / Durham, North Carolina, United States |
| GPS Coordinates: | 35°52'40"N by 78°47'14"W |
| Area Served: | The Research Triangle Metropolitan Region of North Carolina |
| Airport Type: | Public |
| Elevation: | 435 feet (133 meters) |
| # of Runways: | 3 |
| View all routes: | Routes from RDU |
| More Information: | RDU Maps & Info |
Facts about Santa Maria Public Airport (SMX):
- 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.
- A runway extension opened on May 3, 2012, from 6,304 ft.
- The extended primary runway at Santa Maria is paved to 8,004 feet, giving the airport the longest civil runway between Los Angeles and San Francisco on the central coast and Vandenberg AFB's runway are longer).
- In addition to being known as "Santa Maria Public Airport", another name for SMX is "Capt. G. Allan Hancock FieldSanta Maria Army Airfield".
- 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 airport was built by the United States Army during World War II, known as Santa Maria Army Air Field.
- The first airline to serve Santa Maria was Southwest Airways operating Douglas DC-3 prop aircraft.
- Santa Maria Public Airport (SMX) has 2 runways.
- Besides the current Allegiant jet service, SkyWest Airlines operating as United Express via a code sharing agreement with United Airlines flies Embraer EMB-120 Brasilia turboprops and sometimes Bombardier CRJ-200 Regional Jet nonstop to Los Angeles that served the airport for many years.
- 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.
Facts about Raleigh–Durham International Airport (RDU):
- The closest airport to Raleigh–Durham International Airport (RDU) is Triangle North Executive Airport (Franklin County Airport) (LFN), which is located 27 miles (44 kilometers) ENE of RDU.
- The new Raleigh–Durham Airport opened on May 1, 1943 with flights by Eastern Airlines.
- The furthest airport from Raleigh–Durham International Airport (RDU) is Margaret River Airport (MGV), which is located 11,639 miles (18,731 kilometers) away in Margaret River, Western Australia, Australia.
- After years of proposals, the 1981 part of Terminal 1 was closed in 2012 for a complete reconstruction.
- Because of Raleigh–Durham International Airport's relatively low elevation of 435 feet, planes can take off or land at Raleigh–Durham 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.
- AA retained the daily nonstop flight to London, originally launched to Gatwick Airport in May 1994 with a Boeing 767-200ER.
- Raleigh–Durham International Airport (RDU) has 3 runways.
