Nonstop flight route between Lapu-Lapu City, Philippines and Ponce, Puerto Rico:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Mactan-Cebu International Airport (CEB), Lapu-Lapu City, Philippines and Mercedita Airport (PSE), Ponce, Puerto Rico would travel a Great Circle distance of 10,352 miles (or 16,660 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 Mactan-Cebu International 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 Mactan-Cebu International 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 Mactan-Cebu International Airport (CEB):

• The closest airport to Mactan-Cebu International Airport (CEB) is Tagbilaran Airport (TAG), which is located 46 miles (74 kilometers) S of CEB.
• On April 23, 2014, the Department of Transportation and Communications awarded the operations and maintenance of MCIA to a consortium of the Philippine Megawide Construction Corporation and Bangalore-based GMR Infrastructure.
• In the mid-1960s, the civilian airport was opened, to replace the Lahug Airport, which could no longer be expanded due to safety and physical problems.
• It has a single 3,300-meter runway that was built by the United States in 1956 as an emergency airport for Strategic Air Command bombers and was known as the Mactan Air Base.
• Because of Mactan-Cebu International Airport's relatively low elevation of 75 feet, planes can take off or land at Mactan-Cebu 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.
• Mactan-Cebu International Airport (CEB) currently has only 1 runway.
• In addition to being known as "Mactan-Cebu International Airport", another name for CEB is "Tugpahanang Pangkalibutan sa Mactan-SugboPaliparang Pandaigdig ng Mactan-Cebu".
• Mactan-Cebu International Airport handled 6,050,564 passengers last year.
• The furthest airport from Mactan-Cebu International Airport (CEB) is Piloto Osvaldo Marques Dias Airport (AFL), which is nearly antipodal to Mactan-Cebu International Airport (meaning Mactan-Cebu International Airport is almost on the exact opposite side of the Earth from Piloto Osvaldo Marques Dias Airport), and is located 12,405 miles (19,964 kilometers) away in Alta Floresta, Brazil.

Facts about Mercedita Airport (PSE):

• 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.
• Mercedita Airport (PSE) currently has only 1 runway.
• The airport has been enlarged on various occasions.
• 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 closest airport to Mercedita Airport (PSE) is Antonio (Nery) Juarbe Pol Airport (ARE), which is located 31 miles (51 kilometers) NNW of PSE.
• The first scheduled commercial flights at Mercedita occurred in 1965 when domestic flights started.
• Built in 1939, Mercedita was originally a modest aerodrome used for the airborne irrigation of sugarcane fields belonging to Destilería Serrallés.
• The airport is also home of the southern aerial division of the Puerto Rico Police Department.
• 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.
• In February 2009, Ponce mayor María Meléndez sought transfer of the airport from the Puerto Rico central government to the Ponce Municipal government amidst discontent with the bureaucracy at the central government that could be avoided if the airport was locally managed.
• 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.
• On July 1, 2011, a Cessna 185 that was supposed to land at Mercedita airport with a family of five on board, registration number N8438Q, crashed while on its way from Culebra.