Nonstop flight route between Fort Bliss, El Paso, Texas, United States and Ponce, Puerto Rico:
Departure Airport:
Arrival Airport:
Distance from BIF to PSE:
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- About this route
- BIF Airport Information
- PSE Airport Information
- Facts about BIF
- Facts about PSE
- Map of Nearest Airports to BIF
- List of Nearest Airports to BIF
- Map of Furthest Airports from BIF
- List of Furthest Airports from BIF
- Map of Nearest Airports to PSE
- List of Nearest Airports to PSE
- Map of Furthest Airports from PSE
- List of Furthest Airports from PSE
About this route:
A direct, nonstop flight between Biggs Army Airfield (BIF), Fort Bliss, El Paso, Texas, United States and Mercedita Airport (PSE), Ponce, Puerto Rico would travel a Great Circle distance of 2,654 miles (or 4,271 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 Biggs Army Airfield and Mercedita 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 Biggs Army Airfield and Mercedita Airport. You'll see that it will travel the same route of the red line on this map!
Departure Airport Information:
| IATA / ICAO Codes: | BIF / KBIF |
| Airport Names: |
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| Location: | Fort Bliss, El Paso, Texas, United States |
| GPS Coordinates: | 31°50'57"N by 106°22'47"W |
| Operator/Owner: | U.S. Army ATCA-ASO |
| Airport Type: | Military |
| Elevation: | 3946 feet (1,203 meters) |
| # of Runways: | 1 |
| View all routes: | Routes from BIF |
| More Information: | BIF Maps & Info |
Arrival Airport Information:
| IATA / ICAO Codes: | PSE / TJPS |
| Airport Names: |
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| Location: | Ponce, Puerto Rico |
| GPS Coordinates: | 18°0'29"N by 66°33'47"W |
| Area Served: | Ponce, Puerto Rico |
| Operator/Owner: | Puerto Rico Ports Authority |
| Airport Type: | Public |
| Elevation: | 29 feet (9 meters) |
| # of Runways: | 1 |
| View all routes: | Routes from PSE |
| More Information: | PSE Maps & Info |
Facts about Biggs Army Airfield (BIF):
- Biggs Army Airfield (BIF) currently has only 1 runway.
- Beginning in 1959, the B-36s were sent to Davis-Monthan AFB for reclamation as B-52B Stratofortresses began to arrive, being transferred from the 99th Bombardment Wing at Westover AFB, Massachusetts which was receiving new B-52Ds.
- In addition to being known as "Biggs Army Airfield", another name for BIF is "Biggs Air Force BaseBiggs Field".
- With the activation of TAC, the new command assigned Headquarters, Ninth Air Force to Biggs on 28 March upon its return from Germany.
- The furthest airport from Biggs Army Airfield (BIF) is Sir Gaëtan Duval Airport (RRG), which is located 11,387 miles (18,325 kilometers) away in Rodrigues Island, Mauritius.
- A period of organization and continued construction followed, with II Bomber Command taking over training.
- The 97th Air Refueling Squadron, activated in March 1949, saw its manning increase as it received its first KB-29P in January 1950.
- The closest airport to Biggs Army Airfield (BIF) is El Paso International Airport (ELP), which is located only 3 miles (5 kilometers) S of BIF.
Facts about Mercedita Airport (PSE):
- On August 12, 1981, an Air Florida plane with 125 Haitian refugees aboard landed at Mercedita en route to the Fort Allen facility in Juana Diaz, part of the 1981 Haitian refugees exodus.
- Because of Mercedita Airport's relatively low elevation of 29 feet, planes can take off or land at Mercedita 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 Mercedita Airport (PSE) is Barrow Island Airport (BWB), which is nearly antipodal to Mercedita Airport (meaning Mercedita Airport is almost on the exact opposite side of the Earth from Barrow Island Airport), and is located 12,201 miles (19,636 kilometers) away in Barrow Island, Western Australia, Australia.
- Federal Express and DHL operate out of this airport for the distribution of surface freight.
- The closest airport to Mercedita Airport (PSE) is Antonio (Nery) Juarbe Pol Airport (ARE), which is located 31 miles (51 kilometers) NNW of PSE.
- In early 2010, members of the Ponce Chamber of Commerce strongly criticized the Puerto Rico Ports Authority and its director Alvaro Pilar Villagran after failure to execute on a legally binding agreement of November 2008, whereby the Ports Authority agreed to an investment of $8 million to build an airport drainage system needed as part of any additional expansion work.
- Mercedita Airport (PSE) currently has only 1 runway.
- In addition to being known as "Mercedita Airport", other names for PSE include "Aeropuerto Mercedita" and "18.00'30"N, 66.33'47"W".
