Nonstop flight route between Santa Maria, California, United States and Tegucigalpa, Honduras:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Santa Maria Public Airport (SMX), Santa Maria, California, United States and Toncontín International Airport (TGU), Tegucigalpa, Honduras would travel a Great Circle distance of 2,518 miles (or 4,053 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 Toncontín 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 Toncontín 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 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.
• In addition to being known as "Santa Maria Public Airport", another name for SMX is "Capt. G. Allan Hancock FieldSanta Maria Army Airfield".
• 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.
• 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.
• 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.
• Santa Maria Public Airport (SMX) has 2 runways.
• 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.
• Santa Maria Public Airport is three miles south of Santa Maria, in northern Santa Barbara County, California.

Facts about Toncontín International Airport (TGU):

• Toncontín International Airport (TGU) currently has only 1 runway.
• Toncontín is also the home of the Aeroclub de Honduras.
• The closest airport to Toncontín International Airport (TGU) is Soto Cano Air Base (XPL), which is located 35 miles (56 kilometers) NW of TGU.
• Toncontín International Airport handled 493,000 passengers last year.
• The Aviator Luigi Venditti conducted several flights using the natural floodplain from Toncontín.
• During the Football War of 1969, Toncontín was a major target for the Salvadoran Air Force, and it was bombed on several occasions by Salvadoran Air-raids.
• The furthest airport from Toncontín International Airport (TGU) is Cocos (Keeling) Island Airport (CCK), which is nearly antipodal to Toncontín International Airport (meaning Toncontín International Airport is almost on the exact opposite side of the Earth from Cocos (Keeling) Island Airport), and is located 12,135 miles (19,530 kilometers) away in Cocos Islands, Australia.
• On July 7, 2008, President Zelaya announced the reopening of Toncontín airport at a news conference following a three-hour meeting with businessmen, who had demanded commercial flights resume at Toncontín due to Soto Cano Air Base being too far from Tegucigalpa.
• In addition to being known as "Toncontín International Airport", another name for TGU is "Aeropuerto Internacional Toncontín".