Nonstop flight route between São Paulo, Brazil and Philipsburg, Sint Maarten, Kingdom of the Netherlands:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between São Paulo/Congonhas Airport (CGH), São Paulo, Brazil and Princess Juliana International Airport (SXM), Philipsburg, Sint Maarten, Kingdom of the Netherlands would travel a Great Circle distance of 3,085 miles (or 4,965 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 São Paulo/Congonhas 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 São Paulo/Congonhas 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 São Paulo/Congonhas Airport (CGH):

• Since the opening of Guarulhos Airport in 1985, international flights no longer operate from Congonhas, and domestic operations have undergone restrictions.
• In addition to being known as "São Paulo/Congonhas Airport", another name for CGH is "Aeroporto de São Paulo/Congonhas".
• Congonhas has slot restrictions operating with a maximum of 30 operations/hour, being one of the three airports with such restrictions in Brazil.
• São Paulo/Congonhas Airport (CGH) has 2 runways.
• São Paulo/Congonhas Airport Portuguese pronunciation:  is one of the three commercial airports serving São Paulo, Brazil.
• Gol Airlines and TAM Airlines offer for their passengers free bus transfers between Congonhas and Guarulhos/Gov.
• On 31 August 2009, Infraero unveiled a BRL164.7 million investment plan to up-grade Congonhas Airport focusing on the preparations for the 2014 FIFA World Cup which will be held in Brazil, São Paulo being one of the venue cities.
• In 2012 the airport was ranked 3rd in terms of transported passengers, 2nd in terms of aircraft operations, and 6th in terms of cargo handled in Brazil, placing it amongst the busiest airports in the country.
• São Paulo/Congonhas Airport handled 17,119,530 passengers last year.
• The furthest airport from São Paulo/Congonhas Airport (CGH) is Minami-Daito Airport (MMD), which is nearly antipodal to São Paulo/Congonhas Airport (meaning São Paulo/Congonhas Airport is almost on the exact opposite side of the Earth from Minami-Daito Airport), and is located 12,235 miles (19,691 kilometers) away in Minami Daito, Okinawa, Japan.
• The closest airport to São Paulo/Congonhas Airport (CGH) is São Paulo/Guarulhos–Governador André Franco Montoro International Airport (GRU), which is located only 18 miles (28 kilometers) NE of CGH.

Facts about Princess Juliana International Airport (SXM):

• Runway 10/28 was renumbered from 09/27 in late 2008.
• 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.
• 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.
• 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.
• 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.
• Because of increased passenger traffic and the expected growth of passenger traffic in the near future, Princess Juliana International Airport is being heavily modernized following a three-phased masterplan, commissioned in 1997.
• Princess Juliana International Airport (SXM) currently has only 1 runway.
• PJIA is equipped with VOR/DME and NDB.
• Because the approach to Runway 10 is over water, pilots can become disoriented regarding their perceived altitude when operating under visual flight rules.