Nonstop flight route between Chu Lai, Quang Nam, Vietnam and Santa Maria, Portugal:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Chu Lai Airport (VCL), Chu Lai, Quang Nam, Vietnam and Santa Maria Airport (SMA), Santa Maria, Portugal would travel a Great Circle distance of 7,736 miles (or 12,450 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 Chu Lai 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 Chu Lai Airport and Santa Maria 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 Chu Lai Airport (VCL):

• The closest airport to Chu Lai Airport (VCL) is Đà Nẵng International Airport (DAD), which is located 55 miles (89 kilometers) NW of VCL.
• The furthest airport from Chu Lai Airport (VCL) is Rodríguez Ballón International Airport (AQP), which is nearly antipodal to Chu Lai Airport (meaning Chu Lai Airport is almost on the exact opposite side of the Earth from Rodríguez Ballón International Airport), and is located 12,369 miles (19,907 kilometers) away in Arequipa, Peru.
• In the Vietnam War, this airfield was an airbase of the United States Marines.
• The government of Vietnam has approved an investment plan for this airport.
• In addition to being known as "Chu Lai Airport", other names for VCL include "Sân bay Chu Lai" and "VVCA".

Facts about Santa Maria Airport (SMA):

• In addition to being known as "Santa Maria Airport", another name for SMA is "Aeroporto de Santa Maria".
• Santa Maria Airport handled 93,436 passengers last year.
• Santa Maria Airport (SMA) currently has only 1 runway.
• The airport at Santa Maria was part of a larger complex of buildings and infrastructures constructed in the 20th century.
• 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.
• 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.
• A chartered Boeing 707-300, Independent Air Flight 1851 from Bergamo, Italy in 1989 crashed on approach to Santa Maria Airport, when it struck the Pico Alto mountain.