Nonstop flight route between Hillsboro / Portland, Oregon, United States and Ponce, Puerto Rico:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Portland-Hillsboro Airport (HIO), Hillsboro / Portland, Oregon, United States and Mercedita Airport (PSE), Ponce, Puerto Rico would travel a Great Circle distance of 3,723 miles (or 5,992 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 Portland-Hillsboro 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 Portland-Hillsboro 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 Portland-Hillsboro Airport (HIO):

• As of 2005 the airport handled 223,000 takeoffs and landings.
• Hillsboro airport goes back to as early as 1928.
• The airport handled 259,263 flights in 2008, surpassing Portland International in this category.
• Portland-Hillsboro Airport (HIO) has 2 runways.
• The furthest airport from Portland-Hillsboro Airport (HIO) is Tôlanaro Airport (FTU), which is located 10,913 miles (17,563 kilometers) away in Tôlanaro, Madagascar.
• Because of Portland-Hillsboro Airport's relatively low elevation of 204 feet, planes can take off or land at Portland-Hillsboro 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 Portland-Hillsboro Airport (HIO) is Portland International Airport (PDX), which is located only 17 miles (28 kilometers) E of HIO.

Facts about Mercedita Airport (PSE):

• Mercedita Airport (PSE) currently has only 1 runway.
• On August 12, 1981, an Air Florida plane with 125 Haitian refugees aboard landed at Mercedita en route to the Fort Allen facility in Juana Diaz, part of the 1981 Haitian refugees exodus.
• 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 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 Puerto Rico Ports Authority recently announced an investment of 7 million dollars to extend Mercedita's runway to 8,000 feet.
• 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.
• The closest airport to Mercedita Airport (PSE) is Antonio (Nery) Juarbe Pol Airport (ARE), which is located 31 miles (51 kilometers) NNW of PSE.
• On July 1, 2011, a Cessna 185 that was supposed to land at Mercedita airport with a family of five on board, registration number N8438Q, crashed while on its way from Culebra.
• 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".