Santa Maria Airport (Azores)

Santa Maria Airport Aeroporto de Santa Maria
A view of the terminal and tower from the tarmac of Santa Maria Airport
IATA: SMA ICAO: LPAZ
Summary
Airport type	Public
Owner	ANA Aeroportos de Portugal
Operator	Vinci SA
Serves	Vila do Porto
Location	Santa Maria Island (Azores), Portugal
Opened	26 July 1945 (1945-07-26)
Focus city for	SATA Air Açores
Built	1945
In use	2
Time zone	Azores (−01:00)
• Summer (DST)	Azores (01:00)
Elevation AMSL	94 m / 308 ft
Coordinates	36°58′26″N 25°10′16″W / 36.97389°N 25.17111°W / 36.97389; -25.17111
Website	aeroportosantamaria.pt
Map
LPAZ Location of the airport on the island of Santa Maria Show map of Azores LPAZ LPAZ (Santa Maria, Azores) Show map of Santa Maria, Azores
Runways
Direction Length Surface ft m 18/36 10,000 3,048
Statistics (2011)
Passengers 93,436 Aircraft Operations 3,176 Metric tonnes of cargo 2697.6
Source: Portuguese AIP[1]

Santa Maria Airport (IATA: SMA, ICAO: LPAZ) is an international airport located 5 km (3.1 mi) west northwest of the urbanized area of Vila do Porto on the island of Santa Maria, in the Portuguese autonomous region of the Azores. A principal hub in transatlantic travel until the end of the 20th century, it was constructed at the start of the Second World War to protect convoys by American troops who were ceded authority until its end. From this period on, the airfield took on a commercial role, reinforced by inter-island travel and connections to Europe, resulting in its obtaining the communication duties for the North Atlantic sector of the airspace corridor.