Nonstop flight route between Mascot (near Sydney), Australia and Santa Maria, Portugal:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Sydney (Kingsford Smith) Airport (SYD), Mascot (near Sydney), Australia and Santa Maria Airport (SMA), Santa Maria, Portugal would travel a Great Circle distance of 12,144 miles (or 19,543 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 Sydney (Kingsford Smith) Airport and Santa Maria 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 Sydney (Kingsford Smith) Airport and Santa Maria Airport. You'll see that it will travel the same route of the red line on this map!

The distance between SYD and SMA makes them almost exactly antipodal (the exact opposite side of the world) to each other. Nonstop flights between Sydney (Kingsford Smith) Airport and Santa Maria Airport would be very impractical for the airlines, because only a lightly loaded Boeing 777-200LR would be able to make the trip. Since airlines need to be able to take as many people and cargo as possible in order to make a profit, the odds of ever seeing a nonstop flight between SYD and SMA are slim to none. However, you'll still be able to get from Mascot (near Sydney), Australia and Santa Maria, Portugal by taking some connecting flights!

Did you know that one full circling of the Earth (measuring from the equator) is about 24,901.5 miles (or 40,075 kilometers), which means if you were 12,450 miles from any given point on the planet, the distance back to your starting point would be about the same -- in any direction! The same can be said for a nonstop flight between SYD and SMA!

Departure Airport Information:

Arrival Airport Information:

Facts about Sydney (Kingsford Smith) Airport (SYD):

• The airport provides a shuttle service between the terminals at a cost of A$5.50.
• Sydney (Kingsford Smith) Airport (SYD) has 3 runways.
• The furthest airport from Sydney (Kingsford Smith) Airport (SYD) is Santa Maria Airport (SMA), which is nearly antipodal to Sydney (Kingsford Smith) Airport (meaning Sydney (Kingsford Smith) Airport is almost on the exact opposite side of the Earth from Santa Maria Airport), and is located 12,144 miles (19,543 kilometers) away in Santa Maria, Portugal.
• The "third runway" which the Commonwealth government commenced development of in 1989 and completed in 1994, remained controversial because of increased aircraftmovements, especially over many inner suburbs.
• The closest airport to Sydney (Kingsford Smith) Airport (SYD) is Bankstown Airport (BWU), which is located only 11 miles (18 kilometers) W of SYD.
• The Federal Government has bought most of the required land in a proposed site at Badgerys Creek, west of Sydney.
• Because of Sydney (Kingsford Smith) Airport's relatively low elevation of 21 feet, planes can take off or land at Sydney (Kingsford Smith) 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 "Sydney (Kingsford Smith) Airport", another name for SYD is "Kingsford-Smith Airport".

Facts about Santa Maria Airport (SMA):

• Santa Maria Airport (SMA) currently has only 1 runway.
• Because of Santa Maria Airport's relatively low elevation of 308 feet, planes can take off or land at Santa Maria 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 Airport handled 93,436 passengers last year.
• The closest airport to Santa Maria Airport (SMA) is João Paulo II Airport (PDL), which is located 60 miles (97 kilometers) NNW of SMA.
• The furthest airport from Santa Maria Airport (SMA) is Moruya Airport (MYA), which is nearly antipodal to Santa Maria Airport (meaning Santa Maria Airport is almost on the exact opposite side of the Earth from Moruya Airport), and is located 12,166 miles (19,579 kilometers) away in Moruya, New South Wales, Australia.
• For a while, Air France's supersonic Concordes were routed to Santa Maria on refueling layovers between Paris and Caracas.
• In addition to being known as "Santa Maria Airport", another name for SMA is "Aeroporto de Santa Maria".
• The forerunner of SATA Air Açores initiated services concurrently to São Miguel and Terceira from Santa Maria Airport on 5 August 1947, using a plane christened "Açor".