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

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Eastern Sierra Regional AirportBishop Army Airfield (BIH), Bishop, California, United States and Princess Juliana International Airport (SXM), Philipsburg, Sint Maarten, Kingdom of the Netherlands would travel a Great Circle distance of 3,578 miles (or 5,758 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 Eastern Sierra Regional AirportBishop Army Airfield 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 Eastern Sierra Regional AirportBishop Army Airfield 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 Eastern Sierra Regional AirportBishop Army Airfield (BIH):

• The airfield opened in April 1940 on 897.22 acres subleased from Inyo County.
• Eastern Sierra Regional AirportBishop Army Airfield (BIH) has 3 runways.
• The USAF subleased from Inyo County runway use rights and a heliport area of 4.76 acres known as the Bishop Test Site from 15 November 1965 to 19 June 1971 and from 25 November 1980 to 30 September 1985.
• The furthest airport from Eastern Sierra Regional AirportBishop Army Airfield (BIH) is Pierrefonds Airport (ZSE), which is located 11,267 miles (18,133 kilometers) away in Saint-Pierre, Réunion.
• Because of Eastern Sierra Regional AirportBishop Army Airfield's high elevation of 4,124 feet, planes must typically fly at a faster airspeed in order to takeoff or land at BIH. Combined with a high temperature, this could make BIH a "Hot & High" airport, where the air density is lower than it would otherwise be at sea level.
• The closest airport to Eastern Sierra Regional AirportBishop Army Airfield (BIH) is Mammoth Yosemite Airport (MMH), which is located 31 miles (50 kilometers) NW of BIH.

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.
• 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 the approach to Runway 10 is over water, pilots can become disoriented regarding their perceived altitude when operating under visual flight rules.
• Princess Juliana International Airport (SXM) currently has only 1 runway.
• PJIA is equipped with VOR/DME and NDB.
• 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.
• The new four-story terminal building offers 27,000 square metres of floor space and is fully air-conditioned.
• 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.
• 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.