Nonstop flight route between Santa Maria, California, United States and Warsaw, Poland:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Santa Maria Public Airport (SMX), Santa Maria, California, United States and Warsaw Chopin Airport (WAW), Warsaw, Poland would travel a Great Circle distance of 5,986 miles (or 9,634 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 Warsaw Chopin 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 Warsaw Chopin 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):

• 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 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 first airline to serve Santa Maria was Southwest Airways operating Douglas DC-3 prop aircraft.
• 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".
• Santa Maria Public Airport (SMX) has 2 runways.
• 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).

Facts about Warsaw Chopin Airport (WAW):

• The closest airport to Warsaw Chopin Airport (WAW) is Historic Centre of Warsaw (WRW), which is located only 5 miles (8 kilometers) NNE of WAW.
• Warsaw Chopin Airport handled 10,683,706 passengers last year.
• The new civil aviation authority began to exercise control over airports, air corridors and routing, ground aviation infrastructure and the responsibility for entering into and signing aviation accords with other states.
• The south hall contains the check-in areas A and B, currently closed due to reconstruction, was built in 1992 with a capacity for 3.5 million passengers per year to replace the ageing complex from the communist era.
• Formerly Warsaw-Okecie Airport or Okecie International Airport, the airport bore the name of its Okęcie neighborhood throughout its history, until its renaming for Polish composer and former Warsaw resident Frédéric Chopin in 2001.
• Political events of the early 1980s caused a decline in passenger traffic, but already by 1983, there was renewed growth, especially on international routes.
• Warsaw Chopin Airport (WAW) has 2 runways.
• This new terminal, featuring the check-in areas C, D and E, became fully operational on 12 March 2008, two years after the originally planned opening date.
• The furthest airport from Warsaw Chopin Airport (WAW) is Chatham Islands (CHT), which is located 11,450 miles (18,426 kilometers) away in Waitangi, Chatham Islands, New Zealand.
• In addition to being known as "Warsaw Chopin Airport", another name for WAW is "Lotnisko Chopina w Warszawie".
• With the building finished in 1933, the new modernist premises of the Warsaw airport cost the State Treasury around 10 million Zloty.
• Because of Warsaw Chopin Airport's relatively low elevation of 361 feet, planes can take off or land at Warsaw Chopin 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.