Nonstop flight route between Santa Maria, California, United States and Vila Real, Portugal:
Departure Airport:
Arrival Airport:
Distance from SMX to VRL:
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- About this route
- SMX Airport Information
- VRL Airport Information
- Facts about SMX
- Facts about VRL
- 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 VRL
- List of Nearest Airports to VRL
- Map of Furthest Airports from VRL
- List of Furthest Airports from VRL
About this route:
A direct, nonstop flight between Santa Maria Public Airport (SMX), Santa Maria, California, United States and Vila Real Airport (VRL), Vila Real, Portugal would travel a Great Circle distance of 5,666 miles (or 9,118 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 Vila Real 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 Vila Real Airport. You'll see that it will travel the same route of the red line on this map!
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: | VRL / LPVR |
| Airport Names: |
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| Location: | Vila Real, Portugal |
| GPS Coordinates: | 41°16'39"N by 7°43'10"W |
| Airport Type: | Public |
| Elevation: | 1831 feet (558 meters) |
| # of Runways: | 1 |
| View all routes: | Routes from VRL |
| More Information: | VRL Maps & Info |
Facts about Santa Maria Public Airport (SMX):
- 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.
- 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.
- In addition to being known as "Santa Maria Public Airport", another name for SMX is "Capt. G. Allan Hancock FieldSanta Maria Army Airfield".
- Other enhancements include a new passenger terminal holding room that opened February 2008.
Facts about Vila Real Airport (VRL):
- The closest airport to Vila Real Airport (VRL) is Braga Airport (BGZ), which is located 43 miles (70 kilometers) WNW of VRL.
- In addition to being known as "Vila Real Airport", another name for VRL is "Aeródromo Municipal de Vila Real".
- The furthest airport from Vila Real Airport (VRL) is Takaka Aerodrome (KTF), which is nearly antipodal to Vila Real Airport (meaning Vila Real Airport is almost on the exact opposite side of the Earth from Takaka Aerodrome), and is located 12,399 miles (19,955 kilometers) away in Takaka, New Zealand.
- Vila Real Airport (VRL) currently has only 1 runway.
