Nonstop flight route between General Santos City, Philippines and Philipsburg, Sint Maarten, Kingdom of the Netherlands:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between General Santos International Airport (GES), General Santos City, Philippines and Princess Juliana International Airport (SXM), Philipsburg, Sint Maarten, Kingdom of the Netherlands would travel a Great Circle distance of 10,680 miles (or 17,188 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 General Santos International Airport and Princess Juliana International 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 General Santos International Airport and Princess Juliana International 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 General Santos International Airport (GES):

• Because of General Santos International Airport's relatively low elevation of 505 feet, planes can take off or land at General Santos 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.
• Philippine Airlines Boeing 747-400 Jumbo Jet 2
• The furthest airport from General Santos International Airport (GES) is Itaituba Airport (ITB), which is nearly antipodal to General Santos International Airport (meaning General Santos International Airport is almost on the exact opposite side of the Earth from Itaituba Airport), and is located 12,290 miles (19,779 kilometers) away in Itaituba, Pará, Brazil.
• Bigger aircraft such as Boeing 747-400, Airbus 340 and Airbus 330 come to the airport due to tuna cargo and increase of passengers, leaving the airport as the only domestic destination of the Philippine Airlines besides PAL Express.
• General Santos International Airport (GES) currently has only 1 runway.
• In addition to being known as "General Santos International Airport", another name for GES is "Paliparang Pandaigdig ng Heneral SantosTugpahanang Pangkalibutanon sa Heneral SantosPangkalibutan nga Hulugpaan sang Heneral Santos".
• General Santos International Airport handled 611,274 passengers last year.
• Upon the opening of the new airport in 1996, it has since gotten hold of the record as the biggest airport facility in the island of Mindanao, which has then become a very promising addition to the potential of the city of General Santos in its bid to become a "Boom Town"—which means rapidly developing urban center—as it was indeed dubbed as is during the time.
• The closest airport to General Santos International Airport (GES) is Allah Valley Airport (AAV), which is located 32 miles (51 kilometers) NW of GES.

Facts about Princess Juliana International Airport (SXM):

• The closest airport to Princess Juliana International Airport (SXM) is L'Espérance Airport Grand Case Airport (CCE), which is located only 6 miles (9 kilometers) NE of SXM.
• Because of Princess Juliana International Airport's relatively low elevation of 14 feet, planes can take off or land at Princess Juliana 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.
• In 1994, the Kingdom of the Netherlands and France signed the Franco-Dutch treaty on Saint Martin border controls, which allows for joint Franco-Dutch border controls on so-called "risk flights".
• Arriving aircraft approach the island on the last section of the final approach for Runway 10, following a 3° glide slope flying low over the famous Maho Beach.
• Because of increased passenger traffic and the expected growth of passenger traffic in the near future, Princess Juliana International Airport is being heavily modernized following a three-phased masterplan, commissioned in 1997.
• The furthest airport from Princess Juliana International Airport (SXM) is Karratha Airport (KTA), which is nearly antipodal to Princess Juliana International Airport (meaning Princess Juliana International Airport is almost on the exact opposite side of the Earth from Karratha Airport), and is located 12,252 miles (19,718 kilometers) away in Karratha / Dampier, Western Australia, Australia.
• Because the approach to Runway 10 is over water, pilots can become disoriented regarding their perceived altitude when operating under visual flight rules.
• The airport was started as a military airstrip in 1942.
• Princess Juliana International Airport (SXM) currently has only 1 runway.
• Runway 10/28 was renumbered from 09/27 in late 2008.