Nonstop flight route between Butte, Montana, United States and Ponce, Puerto Rico:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Bert Mooney Airport (BTM), Butte, Montana, United States and Mercedita Airport (PSE), Ponce, Puerto Rico would travel a Great Circle distance of 3,247 miles (or 5,226 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 Bert Mooney Airport 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 Bert Mooney Airport and Mercedita 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 Bert Mooney Airport (BTM):

• The National Plan of Integrated Airport Systems for 2011–2015 categorized it as a primary commercial service facility.Federal Aviation Administration records say the airport had 30,431 passenger boardings in calendar year 2008, 25,178 in 2009 and 25,433 in 2010.
• Bert Mooney Airport (BTM) has 2 runways.
• Because of Bert Mooney Airport's high elevation of 5,550 feet, planes must typically fly at a faster airspeed in order to takeoff or land at BTM. Combined with a high temperature, this could make BTM a "Hot & High" airport, where the air density is lower than it would otherwise be at sea level.
• The furthest airport from Bert Mooney Airport (BTM) is Sir Gaëtan Duval Airport (RRG), which is located 10,611 miles (17,077 kilometers) away in Rodrigues Island, Mauritius.
• The closest airport to Bert Mooney Airport (BTM) is Dillon Airport (DLN), which is located 48 miles (78 kilometers) S of BTM.

Facts about Mercedita Airport (PSE):

• In 1949, however, it was determined that the runway of the Ponce Airport at the nearby Losey Field no longer met the newer and more stringent minimum airport safety requirements, and airport operations were suspended.
• The Puerto Rico Ports Authority recently announced an investment of 7 million dollars to extend Mercedita's runway to 8,000 feet.
• 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 airport has been enlarged on various occasions.
• After Ponce's mayor Rafael Cordero signed a contract to build a major seaport in the area, Mercedita's directors decided to expand the airport's runway to 8,000 ft to accommodate anticipated growth in airline traffic.
• During 2007, more passengers passed through the airport than the population of the entire city of Ponce itself.
• In addition to being known as "Mercedita Airport", other names for PSE include "Aeropuerto Mercedita" and "18.00'30"N, 66.33'47"W".
• The takeoff/landing strip was then only 850 feet long by 50 feet wide.
• 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.
• The closest airport to Mercedita Airport (PSE) is Antonio (Nery) Juarbe Pol Airport (ARE), which is located 31 miles (51 kilometers) NNW of PSE.
• Mercedita Airport (PSE) currently has only 1 runway.