Nonstop flight route between Cape Romanzof, Alaska, United States and Ponce, Puerto Rico:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Cape Romanzof Air Force Station Cape Romanzof Long Range Radar Site    (CZF), Cape Romanzof, Alaska, United States and Mercedita Airport (PSE), Ponce, Puerto Rico would travel a Great Circle distance of 5,425 miles (or 8,731 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 Cape Romanzof Air Force Station Cape Romanzof Long Range Radar Site    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 Cape Romanzof Air Force Station Cape Romanzof Long Range Radar Site    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 Cape Romanzof Air Force Station Cape Romanzof Long Range Radar Site    (CZF):

• The furthest airport from Cape Romanzof Air Force Station Cape Romanzof Long Range Radar Site    (CZF) is Cape Town International Airport (CPT), which is located 10,504 miles (16,905 kilometers) away in Cape Town, South Africa.
• In addition to being known as "Cape Romanzof Air Force Station Cape Romanzof Long Range Radar Site   ", another name for CZF is "Cape Romanzof AFS Radars F-06".
• The closest airport to Cape Romanzof Air Force Station Cape Romanzof Long Range Radar Site    (CZF) is Scammon Bay Airport (SCM), which is located only 13 miles (21 kilometers) ENE of CZF.
• The station was opened in April 1953 as a general radar surveillance station, operated by the 795th Aircraft Control and Warning Squadron.
• Cape Romanzof AFS was a continental defence radar station constructed to provide the United States Air Force early warning of an attack by the Soviet Union on Alaska.
• In 1998 Pacific Air Forces initiated "Operation Clean Sweep", in which abandoned Cold War stations in Alaska were remediated and the land restored to its previous state.
• Over the years, the equipment at the station was upgraded or modified to improve the efficiency and accuracy of the information gathered by the radars.

Facts about Mercedita Airport (PSE):

• 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 airport is also home of the southern aerial division of the Puerto Rico Police Department.
• 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 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.
• During 2007, more passengers passed through the airport than the population of the entire city of Ponce itself.
• 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.
• 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.
• Federal Express and DHL operate out of this airport for the distribution of surface freight.
• Mercedita Airport (PSE) currently has only 1 runway.
• The takeoff/landing strip was then only 850 feet long by 50 feet wide.
• 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.