Nonstop flight route between Santa Maria, California, United States and Royan, France:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Santa Maria Public Airport (SMX), Santa Maria, California, United States and Royan - Médis Aerodrome (RYN), Royan, France would travel a Great Circle distance of 5,715 miles (or 9,198 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 Royan - Médis Aerodrome, 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 Royan - Médis Aerodrome. 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):

• 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.
• 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.
• Santa Maria Public Airport is three miles south of Santa Maria, in northern Santa Barbara County, California.
• Santa Maria Public Airport (SMX) has 2 runways.
• 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.
• During its use by the military Santa Maria AAF also controlled Estrella Army Airfield, near Paso Robles as an auxiliary airfield to support the pilot training activity.
• The airport was built by the United States Army during World War II, known as Santa Maria Army Air Field.
• In addition to being known as "Santa Maria Public Airport", another name for SMX is "Capt. G. Allan Hancock FieldSanta Maria Army Airfield".

Facts about Royan - Médis Aerodrome (RYN):

• Because of Royan - Médis Aerodrome's relatively low elevation of 72 feet, planes can take off or land at Royan - Médis Aerodrome 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.
• In addition to being known as "Royan - Médis Aerodrome", another name for RYN is "Aérodrome de Royan-Médis".
• Royan - Médis Aerodrome (RYN) has 2 runways.
• The closest airport to Royan - Médis Aerodrome (RYN) is Cognac - Châteaubernard Air Base (CNG), which is located 32 miles (51 kilometers) E of RYN.
• The furthest airport from Royan - Médis Aerodrome (RYN) is Chatham Islands (CHT), which is nearly antipodal to Royan - Médis Aerodrome (meaning Royan - Médis Aerodrome is almost on the exact opposite side of the Earth from Chatham Islands), and is located 12,182 miles (19,605 kilometers) away in Waitangi, Chatham Islands, New Zealand.