Nonstop flight route between Alpine, Texas, United States and Philipsburg, Sint Maarten, Kingdom of the Netherlands:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Alpine-Casparis Municipal Airport (ALE), Alpine, Texas, United States and Princess Juliana International Airport (SXM), Philipsburg, Sint Maarten, Kingdom of the Netherlands would travel a Great Circle distance of 2,679 miles (or 4,311 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 Alpine-Casparis Municipal Airport and Princess Juliana International 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 Alpine-Casparis Municipal Airport and Princess Juliana International 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 Alpine-Casparis Municipal Airport (ALE):

• The closest airport to Alpine-Casparis Municipal Airport (ALE) is Marfa Municipal Airport (MRF), which is located only 20 miles (32 kilometers) W of ALE.
• Alpine-Casparis Municipal Airport (ALE) has 2 runways.
• On July 4, 2010, a twin-engine Cessna 421 employed by O’Hara Flying Service II LP of Amarillo as an air ambulance, was en route to Midland, Texas when it crashed in a field one mile east of Alpine-Casparis Municipal Airport, killing all 5 on board.
• In addition to being known as "Alpine-Casparis Municipal Airport", other names for ALE include "none" and "E38".
• The airport's only scheduled service as of January 2013 is a Monday through Friday cargo flight operated by Ameriflight on behalf of UPS to Midland, Texas.
• Because of Alpine-Casparis Municipal Airport's high elevation of 4,515 feet, planes must typically fly at a faster airspeed in order to takeoff or land at ALE. Combined with a high temperature, this could make ALE a "Hot & High" airport, where the air density is lower than it would otherwise be at sea level.
• The furthest airport from Alpine-Casparis Municipal Airport (ALE) is Sir Gaëtan Duval Airport (RRG), which is located 11,345 miles (18,257 kilometers) away in Rodrigues Island, Mauritius.

Facts about Princess Juliana International Airport (SXM):

• Phase II included the construction of a radar facility and a new air traffic control tower, the construction of a new and more modern, 27,000 square metres, terminal, capable of handling 2.5 million passengers per year, and the construction of a Runway End Safety Area of 150 metres, including a 60 metres overrun, on both ends of its runway, to comply with ICAO rules.
• Since official opening of the new control tower, PJIA air traffic controllers have two radar systems at their disposal with ranges of 50 nautical miles and 250 nautical miles.
• Arriving aircraft approach the island on the last section of the final approach for Runway 10, following a 3° glide slope flying low over the famous Maho Beach.
• The closest airport to Princess Juliana International Airport (SXM) is L'Espérance Airport Grand Case Airport (CCE), which is located only 6 miles (9 kilometers) NE of SXM.
• Because of Princess Juliana International Airport's relatively low elevation of 14 feet, planes can take off or land at Princess Juliana 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.
• The furthest airport from Princess Juliana International Airport (SXM) is Karratha Airport (KTA), which is nearly antipodal to Princess Juliana International Airport (meaning Princess Juliana International Airport is almost on the exact opposite side of the Earth from Karratha Airport), and is located 12,252 miles (19,718 kilometers) away in Karratha / Dampier, Western Australia, Australia.
• Princess Juliana International Airport (SXM) currently has only 1 runway.
• If traffic develops as forecast, Phase III of the masterplan will be executed, consisting of an extension of the new terminal building and the construction of a full parallel taxiway system.