Nonstop flight route between Durango, Colorado, United States and Ponce, Puerto Rico:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Durango–La Plata County Airport (DRO), Durango, Colorado, United States and Mercedita Airport (PSE), Ponce, Puerto Rico would travel a Great Circle distance of 2,818 miles (or 4,536 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 Durango–La Plata County 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 Durango–La Plata County 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 Durango–La Plata County Airport (DRO):

• Durango–La Plata County Airport (DRO) currently has only 1 runway.
• Most flights now are turboprops or regional jets, the exception being Frontier Airlines Airbus A319s nonstop to Denver.American Eagle, flying for American Airlines, has Embraer ERJ-140s and ERJ-145s nonstop to Dallas/Ft.
• The furthest airport from Durango–La Plata County Airport (DRO) is Sir Gaëtan Duval Airport (RRG), which is located 11,121 miles (17,897 kilometers) away in Rodrigues Island, Mauritius.
• Because of Durango–La Plata County Airport's high elevation of 6,685 feet, planes must typically fly at a faster airspeed in order to takeoff or land at DRO. Combined with a high temperature, this could make DRO a "Hot & High" airport, where the air density is lower than it would otherwise be at sea level.
• Durango–La Plata County Airport was served during the 1990s by Reno Air with DC-9 flights from Los Angeles International Airport in Los Angeles, California and Albuquerque International Sunport in Albuquerque, New Mexico.
• Several airlines flew mainline jets to Durango.
• Durango–La Plata County Airport is a city and county owned, public airport 12 miles southeast of Durango, in La Plata County, Colorado.
• The airport has three boarding gates, five plane stands, a pre-security restaurant and a gift shop.
• The closest airport to Durango–La Plata County Airport (DRO) is Animas Air Park (AMK), which is located only 7 miles (12 kilometers) WNW of DRO.

Facts about Mercedita Airport (PSE):

• 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 airport has been enlarged on various occasions.
• 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 addition to being known as "Mercedita Airport", other names for PSE include "Aeropuerto Mercedita" and "18.00'30"N, 66.33'47"W".
• 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.
• Mercedita Airport (PSE) currently has only 1 runway.
• 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.