Nonstop flight route between Panama City, Florida, United States and Ponce, Puerto Rico:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Northwest Florida Beaches International Airport (ECP), Panama City, Florida, United States and Mercedita Airport (PSE), Ponce, Puerto Rico would travel a Great Circle distance of 1,479 miles (or 2,379 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 Northwest Florida Beaches International 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 Northwest Florida Beaches International Airport (ECP):

• Because of Northwest Florida Beaches International Airport's relatively low elevation of 68 feet, planes can take off or land at Northwest Florida Beaches 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.
• Northwest Florida Beaches International Airport (ECP) currently has only 1 runway.
• The furthest airport from Northwest Florida Beaches International Airport (ECP) is Shark Bay Airport (MJK), which is located 11,218 miles (18,054 kilometers) away in Monkey Mia, Western Australia, Australia.
• In the late 1990s the Panama City-Bay County Airport and Industrial District started looking for ways to increase the air service in the Panama City area.
• Northwest Florida Beaches International Airport handled 85,600 passengers last year.
• The second, cross-wind runway is under construction.
• Southwest Airlines began service in May 2010 with 8 daily flights, 2 each to Baltimore-Washington, Houston-Hobby, Nashville and Orlando.
• The closest airport to Northwest Florida Beaches International Airport (ECP) is Panama City–Bay County International Airport (PFN), which is located only 12 miles (20 kilometers) SSE of ECP.

Facts about Mercedita Airport (PSE):

• 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.
• 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 airport is also home of the southern aerial division of the Puerto Rico Police Department.
• Mercedita Airport (PSE) currently has only 1 runway.
• In addition to being known as "Mercedita Airport", other names for PSE include "Aeropuerto Mercedita" and "18.00'30"N, 66.33'47"W".
• Federal Express and DHL operate out of this airport for the distribution of surface freight.
• 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 first scheduled commercial flights at Mercedita occurred in 1965 when domestic flights started.
• 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.
• The closest airport to Mercedita Airport (PSE) is Antonio (Nery) Juarbe Pol Airport (ARE), which is located 31 miles (51 kilometers) NNW of PSE.