Nonstop flight route between Shellharbour, Wollongong, New South Wales, Australia and Santa Maria, Portugal:
Departure Airport:
Arrival Airport:
Distance from WOL to SMA:
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- About this route
- WOL Airport Information
- SMA Airport Information
- Facts about WOL
- Facts about SMA
- Map of Nearest Airports to WOL
- List of Nearest Airports to WOL
- Map of Furthest Airports from WOL
- List of Furthest Airports from WOL
- 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 Illawarra Regional Airport (WOL), Shellharbour, Wollongong, New South Wales, Australia and Santa Maria Airport (SMA), Santa Maria, Portugal would travel a Great Circle distance of 12,156 miles (or 19,563 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 Illawarra Regional 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 Illawarra Regional 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 WOL and SMA makes them almost exactly antipodal (the exact opposite side of the world) to each other. Nonstop flights between Illawarra Regional 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 WOL and SMA are slim to none. However, you'll still be able to get from Shellharbour, Wollongong, New South Wales, 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 WOL and SMA!
Departure Airport Information:
IATA / ICAO Codes: | WOL / YWOL |
Airport Names: |
|
Location: | Shellharbour, Wollongong, New South Wales, Australia |
GPS Coordinates: | 34°33'39"S by 150°47'18"E |
Operator/Owner: | Shellharbour City Council |
Airport Type: | Public |
Elevation: | 31 feet (9 meters) |
# of Runways: | 2 |
View all routes: | Routes from WOL |
More Information: | WOL 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 Illawarra Regional Airport (WOL):
- Illawarra Regional Airport is an airport located 18 km southwest of Wollongong, New South Wales, Australia.
- In addition to being known as "Illawarra Regional Airport", another name for WOL is "Wollongong Airport".
- Illawarra Regional Airport (WOL) has 2 runways.
- The Historical Aircraft Restoration Society is based at Illawarra Regional Airport.
- Following the war, Trans Australia Airlines and Australian National Airways linked the airport with Canberra and Melbourne until 1950.
- The furthest airport from Illawarra Regional Airport (WOL) is Horta International Airport (HOR), which is nearly antipodal to Illawarra Regional Airport (meaning Illawarra Regional Airport is almost on the exact opposite side of the Earth from Horta International Airport), and is located 12,162 miles (19,573 kilometers) away in Horta, Azores, Portugal.
- Because of Illawarra Regional Airport's relatively low elevation of 31 feet, planes can take off or land at Illawarra Regional 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 closest airport to Illawarra Regional Airport (WOL) is Camden Aerodrome (CDU), which is located 36 miles (59 kilometers) N of WOL.
Facts about Santa Maria Airport (SMA):
- 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.
- It has one runway which is 3,048 m × 60 m.
- 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.
- 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.
- The closest airport to Santa Maria Airport (SMA) is João Paulo II Airport (PDL), which is located 60 miles (97 kilometers) NNW of SMA.
- 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 (SMA) currently has only 1 runway.