Nonstop flight route between Hachinohe, Honshū, Japan and Ponce, Puerto Rico:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between JMSDF Hachinohe Air Base (HHE), Hachinohe, Honshū, Japan and Mercedita Airport (PSE), Ponce, Puerto Rico would travel a Great Circle distance of 8,008 miles (or 12,888 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 JMSDF Hachinohe Air Base 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 JMSDF Hachinohe Air Base 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 JMSDF Hachinohe Air Base (HHE):

• The furthest airport from JMSDF Hachinohe Air Base (HHE) is Rio Grande Regional Airport (RIG), which is located 11,480 miles (18,476 kilometers) away in Rio Grande, Brazil.
• JMSDF Hachinohe Air Base (HHE) currently has only 1 runway.
• In addition to being known as "JMSDF Hachinohe Air Base", other names for HHE include "八戸航空基地" and "Hachinohe Koku-kichi".
• JMSDF Hachinohe Air Base is currently the headquarters of the JMSDF Fleet Air Wing 2, which is equipped with Kawasaki-Lockheed P-3C Orion maritime patrol aircraft, and which is responsible for patrols of the seaward approaches to northern Japan.
• The closest airport to JMSDF Hachinohe Air Base (HHE) is Misawa Air Base 三沢飛行場 Misawa Hikōjō (MSJ), which is located only 12 miles (19 kilometers) NNW of HHE.
• In 1963, American authorities banned civilian air traffic to Misawa Air Base, citing safety and security reasons, and commercial air operations were transferred to Hachinohe.
• Because of JMSDF Hachinohe Air Base's relatively low elevation of 152 feet, planes can take off or land at JMSDF Hachinohe Air Base 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.

Facts about Mercedita Airport (PSE):

• 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.
• In addition to being known as "Mercedita Airport", other names for PSE include "Aeropuerto Mercedita" and "18.00'30"N, 66.33'47"W".
• Mercedita Airport (PSE) currently has only 1 runway.
• Mercedita Airport is a public use airport located three nautical miles east of the central business district of Ponce, Puerto Rico.
• 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.
• Passenger movement at the airport in FY 2008 was 278,911, a 1,228% increase over fiscal year 2003 and the highest of all the regional airports for that 5-year period.
• 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.
• The closest airport to Mercedita Airport (PSE) is Antonio (Nery) Juarbe Pol Airport (ARE), which is located 31 miles (51 kilometers) NNW of PSE.