Nonstop flight route between Tchien, Liberia and Santa Maria, California, United States:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Tchien Airport (THC), Tchien, Liberia and Santa Maria Public Airport (SMX), Santa Maria, California, United States would travel a Great Circle distance of 7,216 miles (or 11,614 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 Tchien Airport and Santa Maria Public 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 Tchien Airport and Santa Maria Public 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 Tchien Airport (THC):

• The closest airport to Tchien Airport (THC) is Guiglo Airport (GGO), which is located 54 miles (87 kilometers) NE of THC.
• Because of Tchien Airport's relatively low elevation of 240 feet, planes can take off or land at Tchien 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.
• Tchien Airport (THC) currently has only 1 runway.
• The furthest airport from Tchien Airport (THC) is Arorae Island Airport (AIS), which is nearly antipodal to Tchien Airport (meaning Tchien Airport is almost on the exact opposite side of the Earth from Arorae Island Airport), and is located 12,022 miles (19,347 kilometers) away in Arorae Island, Kiribati.

Facts about Santa Maria Public Airport (SMX):

• 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.
• 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.
• A 4,000-square-foot baggage claim facility opened in 2007.
• 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.
• Santa Maria Public Airport (SMX) has 2 runways.
• 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.
• 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).
• The airport was built by the United States Army during World War II, known as Santa Maria Army Air Field.
• In addition to being known as "Santa Maria Public Airport", another name for SMX is "Capt. G. Allan Hancock FieldSanta Maria Army Airfield".