Nonstop flight route between Isla de Culebra, Puerto Rico and Ponce, Puerto Rico:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Benjamín Rivera Noriega Airport (CPX), Isla de Culebra, Puerto Rico and Mercedita Airport (PSE), Ponce, Puerto Rico would travel a Great Circle distance of 85 miles (or 137 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 relatively short distance between Benjamín Rivera Noriega Airport and Mercedita Airport, the route shown on this map most likely still appears to be a straight line.

Departure Airport Information:

Arrival Airport Information:

Facts about Benjamín Rivera Noriega Airport (CPX):

• After the Navy-Culebra protests, the Puerto Rico Ports Authority started administering the civilian flight operations in Culebra, inaugurating the first passenger terminal in October 24, 1976.
• A new passenger terminal was inaugurated in 1994, and its name was changed to Benjamín Rivera Noriega, in honor of a pilot from Ciales.
• Benjamín Rivera Noriega Airport (CPX) currently has only 1 runway.
• Because of Benjamín Rivera Noriega Airport's relatively low elevation of 49 feet, planes can take off or land at Benjamín Rivera Noriega 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.
• On July 1, 2011, a Cessna 185 that took off from Benjamin Rivera Noriega airport with a family of five on board, registration number N8436Q, crashed while on its way to Mercedita Airport in Ponce.
• The furthest airport from Benjamín Rivera Noriega Airport (CPX) is Barrow Island Airport (BWB), which is nearly antipodal to Benjamín Rivera Noriega Airport (meaning Benjamín Rivera Noriega Airport is almost on the exact opposite side of the Earth from Barrow Island Airport), and is located 12,254 miles (19,722 kilometers) away in Barrow Island, Western Australia, Australia.
• Benjamín Rivera Noriega Airport handled 75,964 passengers last year.
• The closest airport to Benjamín Rivera Noriega Airport (CPX) is Antonio Rivera Rodríguez Airport (VQS), which is located only 18 miles (28 kilometers) SW of CPX.
• In addition to being known as "Benjamín Rivera Noriega Airport", another name for CPX is "Aeropuerto Benjamín Rivera Noriega".

Facts about Mercedita Airport (PSE):

• 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 airport is also home of the southern aerial division of the Puerto Rico Police Department.
• On June 24, 1972, Prinair Flight 191, which took off from Luis Muñoz Marín International Airport in San Juan, Puerto Rico, crashed while attempting to land at Mercedita Airport.
• Mercedita Airport (PSE) currently has only 1 runway.
• Mercedita Airport covers an area of 274 acres at an elevation of 29 feet above mean sea level.
• 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.
• In the fall of 1992, the runway was extended to make it possible for American Airlines to run flights to Miami, Florida.
• During 2007, more passengers passed through the airport than the population of the entire city of Ponce itself.
• 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 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.
• In addition to being known as "Mercedita Airport", other names for PSE include "Aeropuerto Mercedita" and "18.00'30"N, 66.33'47"W".
• 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.