Nonstop flight route between Hawthorne, California, United States and Ponce, Puerto Rico:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Hawthorne Municipal Airport (HHR), Hawthorne, California, United States and Mercedita Airport (PSE), Ponce, Puerto Rico would travel a Great Circle distance of 3,360 miles (or 5,408 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 Hawthorne Municipal 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 Hawthorne Municipal 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 Hawthorne Municipal Airport (HHR):

• The closest airport to Hawthorne Municipal Airport (HHR) is Los Angeles International Airport (LAX), which is located only 4 miles (7 kilometers) WNW of HHR.
• In addition to being known as "Hawthorne Municipal Airport", another name for HHR is "Jack Northrop Field".
• Hawthorne Municipal Airport (HHR) currently has only 1 runway.
• Because of Hawthorne Municipal Airport's relatively low elevation of 66 feet, planes can take off or land at Hawthorne Municipal 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 furthest airport from Hawthorne Municipal Airport (HHR) is Pierrefonds Airport (ZSE), which is located 11,487 miles (18,486 kilometers) away in Saint-Pierre, Réunion.
• During World War II the airfield was used by the United States Army Air Forces Air Technical Service Command as an aircraft modification center and Air Transport Command to ferry new aircraft to operational units.

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.
• 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 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 airport has been enlarged on various occasions.
• In addition to being known as "Mercedita Airport", other names for PSE include "Aeropuerto Mercedita" and "18.00'30"N, 66.33'47"W".
• 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 the fall of 1992, the runway was extended to make it possible for American Airlines to run flights to Miami, Florida.
• 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.
• 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.