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

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Deering Airport (DRG), Deering, Alaska, United States and Mercedita Airport (PSE), Ponce, Puerto Rico would travel a Great Circle distance of 5,255 miles (or 8,458 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 Deering 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 Deering 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 Deering Airport (DRG):

• In addition to being known as "Deering Airport", another name for DRG is "DEE".
• The closest airport to Deering Airport (DRG) is Buckland Airport (BKC), which is located 46 miles (74 kilometers) E of DRG.
• Because of Deering Airport's relatively low elevation of 21 feet, planes can take off or land at Deering 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 furthest airport from Deering Airport (DRG) is Teniente Rodolfo Marsh Airport (TNM), which is located 10,267 miles (16,524 kilometers) away in Villa Las Estrellas, Antarctica.
• Deering Airport (DRG) has 2 runways.

Facts about Mercedita Airport (PSE):

• The airport is also home of the southern aerial division of the Puerto Rico Police Department.
• The Puerto Rico Ports Authority recently announced an investment of 7 million dollars to extend Mercedita's runway to 8,000 feet.
• The closest airport to Mercedita Airport (PSE) is Antonio (Nery) Juarbe Pol Airport (ARE), which is located 31 miles (51 kilometers) NNW of 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.
• The first scheduled commercial flights at Mercedita occurred in 1965 when domestic flights started.
• In addition to being known as "Mercedita Airport", other names for PSE include "Aeropuerto Mercedita" and "18.00'30"N, 66.33'47"W".
• Mercedita Airport (PSE) currently has only 1 runway.
• 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.
• 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 August 12, 1981, an Air Florida plane with 125 Haitian refugees aboard landed at Mercedita en route to the Fort Allen facility in Juana Diaz, part of the 1981 Haitian refugees exodus.
• 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.