Nonstop flight route between Sharq Al-Owainat, Egypt and Ponce, Puerto Rico:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Sharq Al-Owainat Airport (GSQ), Sharq Al-Owainat, Egypt and Mercedita Airport (PSE), Ponce, Puerto Rico would travel a Great Circle distance of 6,069 miles (or 9,766 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 Sharq Al-Owainat 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 Sharq Al-Owainat 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 Sharq Al-Owainat Airport (GSQ):

• A simple terminal building can serve passengers at a rate of 100 per hour.
• The closest airport to Sharq Al-Owainat Airport (GSQ) is Al Hufalysin Airport (ABS), which is located 185 miles (298 kilometers) E of GSQ.
• Because of Sharq Al-Owainat Airport's relatively low elevation of 859 feet, planes can take off or land at Sharq Al-Owainat 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.
• Sharq Al-Owainat Airport is a small airport serving Sharq Al-Owainat which is located in Western Desert of Egypt.
• In August 2009, EgyptAir signed an agreement with a UAE-based agricultural inventment firm Janan Investment Company to operate a weekly Sunday flight from the capital's Cairo International Airport to Sharq Al-Owainat Airport in order to serve the movement of workers and investors to encourage agricultural investment in the region.
• The furthest airport from Sharq Al-Owainat Airport (GSQ) is Rurutu Airport (RUR), which is nearly antipodal to Sharq Al-Owainat Airport (meaning Sharq Al-Owainat Airport is almost on the exact opposite side of the Earth from Rurutu Airport), and is located 12,425 miles (19,996 kilometers) away in Rurutu, French Polynesia.
• The US$3 million airport was constructed in 3 months in 2003 to meet the needs of investors to bring equipment and to export crops.
• Sharq Al-Owainat Airport (GSQ) currently has only 1 runway.

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.
• During 2007, more passengers passed through the airport than the population of the entire city of Ponce itself.
• 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.
• In 1949, however, it was determined that the runway of the Ponce Airport at the nearby Losey Field no longer met the newer and more stringent minimum airport safety requirements, and airport operations were suspended.
• Mercedita Airport (PSE) currently has only 1 runway.
• As per Federal Aviation Administration records, the airport had 110,159 passenger boardings in calendar year 2008, 90,267 enplanements in 2009, and 97,660 in 2010.
• 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.
• 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.
• In addition to being known as "Mercedita Airport", other names for PSE include "Aeropuerto Mercedita" and "18.00'30"N, 66.33'47"W".