Nonstop flight route between Santa Maria, California, United States and Wanaka, New Zealand:
Departure Airport:

Arrival Airport:

Distance from SMX to WKA:
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- About this route
- SMX Airport Information
- WKA Airport Information
- Facts about SMX
- Facts about WKA
- 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 WKA
- List of Nearest Airports to WKA
- Map of Furthest Airports from WKA
- List of Furthest Airports from WKA
About this route:
A direct, nonstop flight between Santa Maria Public Airport (SMX), Santa Maria, California, United States and Wanaka Airport (WKA), Wanaka, New Zealand would travel a Great Circle distance of 7,040 miles (or 11,330 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 Wanaka 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 Wanaka 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: |
|
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: | WKA / NZWF |
Airport Name: | Wanaka Airport |
Location: | Wanaka, New Zealand |
GPS Coordinates: | 44°43'20"S by 169°14'44"E |
Operator/Owner: | Wanaka Town Board and Management Committee |
Airport Type: | Public |
Elevation: | 1142 feet (348 meters) |
# of Runways: | 1 |
View all routes: | Routes from WKA |
More Information: | WKA Maps & Info |
Facts about Santa Maria Public Airport (SMX):
- After the war Santa Barbara County and the city of Santa Maria acquired the land and facilities through two grants in 1948.
- 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.
- Santa Maria Public Airport (SMX) has 2 runways.
- A 4,000-square-foot baggage claim facility opened in 2007.
- In addition to being known as "Santa Maria Public Airport", another name for SMX is "Capt. G. Allan Hancock FieldSanta Maria Army Airfield".
- 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.
Facts about Wanaka Airport (WKA):
- The closest airport to Wanaka Airport (WKA) is Queenstown Airport (ZQN), which is located 32 miles (52 kilometers) SW of WKA.
- Wanaka Airport (WKA) currently has only 1 runway.
- Scheduled services were operated by Air New Zealand's 19 seater Beechcraft 1900D to Christchurch, this finished on 30 January 2013.
- The furthest airport from Wanaka Airport (WKA) is A Coruña Airport (LCG), which is nearly antipodal to Wanaka Airport (meaning Wanaka Airport is almost on the exact opposite side of the Earth from A Coruña Airport), and is located 12,283 miles (19,768 kilometers) away in A Coruña, Spain.