Nonstop flight route between Wellington, New Zealand and Santa Maria, Portugal:
Departure Airport:
Arrival Airport:
Distance from WLG to SMA:
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- About this route
- WLG Airport Information
- SMA Airport Information
- Facts about WLG
- Facts about SMA
- Map of Nearest Airports to WLG
- List of Nearest Airports to WLG
- Map of Furthest Airports from WLG
- List of Furthest Airports from WLG
- Map of Nearest Airports to SMA
- List of Nearest Airports to SMA
- Map of Furthest Airports from SMA
- List of Furthest Airports from SMA
About this route:
A direct, nonstop flight between Wellington International Airport (WLG), Wellington, New Zealand and Santa Maria Airport (SMA), Santa Maria, Portugal would travel a Great Circle distance of 11,328 miles (or 18,230 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 Wellington International 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 Wellington International 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:
| IATA / ICAO Codes: | WLG / NZWN |
| Airport Name: | Wellington International Airport |
| Location: | Wellington, New Zealand |
| GPS Coordinates: | 41°19'37"S by 174°48'19"E |
| Area Served: | Wellington, New Zealand |
| Operator/Owner: | Infratil, Wellington City Council |
| Airport Type: | Public |
| Elevation: | 42 feet (13 meters) |
| # of Runways: | 1 |
| View all routes: | Routes from WLG |
| More Information: | WLG Maps & Info |
Arrival Airport Information:
| IATA / ICAO Codes: | SMA / LPAZ |
| Airport Names: |
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| Location: | Santa Maria, Portugal |
| GPS Coordinates: | 36°58'26"N by 25°10'15"W |
| Area Served: | Vila do Porto |
| Operator/Owner: | Government of Portugal |
| Airport Type: | Public |
| Elevation: | 308 feet (94 meters) |
| # of Runways: | 1 |
| View all routes: | Routes from SMA |
| More Information: | SMA Maps & Info |
Facts about Wellington International Airport (WLG):
- The South Pier contains six gates that serve regional aircraft and Air New Zealand Link turboprop aircraft.
- The closest airport to Wellington International Airport (WLG) is Kapiti Coast Airport (PPQ), which is located 31 miles (49 kilometers) NNE of WLG.
- The airport comprises a small 110-hectare site on the Rongotai isthmus, a stretch of low-lying land between Wellington proper and the Miramar Peninsula.
- The length of the runway has limited the size of aircraft that can use the airport on a commercial basis, and overseas destinations are limited to the east coast of Australia and the South Pacific.
- Because of Wellington International Airport's relatively low elevation of 42 feet, planes can take off or land at Wellington International 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.
- Vincent Aviation has a small passenger lounge on the Western apron which is used for air charters.
- Wellington International Airport (WLG) currently has only 1 runway.
- The furthest airport from Wellington International Airport (WLG) is Salamanca-Matacán Airport (SLM), which is nearly antipodal to Wellington International Airport (meaning Wellington International Airport is almost on the exact opposite side of the Earth from Salamanca-Matacán Airport), and is located 12,406 miles (19,966 kilometers) away in Salamanca, Spain.
- Wellington has a reputation for sometimes rough and turbulent landings, even in larger aircraft, due to the channelling effect of Cook Strait creating strong and gusty winds, especially in pre frontal north westerly conditions.
Facts about Santa Maria Airport (SMA):
- The closest airport to Santa Maria Airport (SMA) is João Paulo II Airport (PDL), which is located 60 miles (97 kilometers) NNW of SMA.
- Santa Maria Airport handled 93,436 passengers last year.
- In addition to being known as "Santa Maria Airport", another name for SMA is "Aeroporto de Santa Maria".
- 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.
- For a while, Air France's supersonic Concordes were routed to Santa Maria on refueling layovers between Paris and Caracas.
- 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.
- 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.
- It was built in the context of the Second World War, by US troops in order to maintain supply lines to Europe, and inaugurated on 26 July 1945.
- Santa Maria Airport (SMA) currently has only 1 runway.
