Nonstop flight route between Gladstone, Queensland, Australia and Ponce, Puerto Rico:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Gladstone Airport (GLT), Gladstone, Queensland, Australia and Mercedita Airport (PSE), Ponce, Puerto Rico would travel a Great Circle distance of 9,972 miles (or 16,049 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 Gladstone 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 Gladstone 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 Gladstone Airport (GLT):

• The airport is owned and operated by the Gladstone Regional Council which took control of it by operation of the Local Government Reform when the Gladstone-Calliope Aerodrome Board was dissolved on 15 March 2007.
• Because of Gladstone Airport's relatively low elevation of 59 feet, planes can take off or land at Gladstone 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 closest airport to Gladstone Airport (GLT) is Rockhampton Airport (ROK), which is located 58 miles (94 kilometers) NW of GLT.
• The furthest airport from Gladstone Airport (GLT) is Agostinho Neto Airport (NTO), which is located 11,918 miles (19,180 kilometers) away in Ponta do Sol, Santo Antão, Cape Verde.
• Gladstone Airport (GLT) currently has only 1 runway.
• Buses operate between the town centre and the airport, but are only operational from Monday to Friday between 6am and 6pm.
• The Gladstone Regional Council commenced an upgrade of the airport in 2008.

Facts about Mercedita Airport (PSE):

• Mercedita Airport is a public use airport located three nautical miles east of the central business district of Ponce, Puerto Rico.
• 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.
• The closest airport to Mercedita Airport (PSE) is Antonio (Nery) Juarbe Pol Airport (ARE), which is located 31 miles (51 kilometers) NNW of PSE.
• Built in 1939, Mercedita was originally a modest aerodrome used for the airborne irrigation of sugarcane fields belonging to Destilería Serrallés.
• Realtime departures and arrivals information is available online.
• Mercedita Airport (PSE) currently has only 1 runway.
• 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.
• 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 addition to being known as "Mercedita Airport", other names for PSE include "Aeropuerto Mercedita" and "18.00'30"N, 66.33'47"W".
• 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.