Nonstop flight route between Simikot, Nepal and Ponce, Puerto Rico:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Simikot Airport (IMK), Simikot, Nepal and Mercedita Airport (PSE), Ponce, Puerto Rico would travel a Great Circle distance of 8,510 miles (or 13,696 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 Simikot 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 Simikot 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 Simikot Airport (IMK):

• List of airports in Nepal
• Pilgrims and Trekkers bound for Lake Manasarovar and Mount Kailash in China's Tibet Autonomous Region fly into Simikot and proceed to the international border at Hilsa on foot or by helicopter.
• The closest airport to Simikot Airport (IMK) is Bajura Airport (BJU), which is located 34 miles (54 kilometers) SSW of IMK.
• Because of Simikot Airport's high elevation of 9,246 feet, planes must typically fly at a faster airspeed in order to takeoff or land at IMK. Combined with a high temperature, this could make IMK a "Hot & High" airport, where the air density is lower than it would otherwise be at sea level.
• The furthest airport from Simikot Airport (IMK) is Mataveri International Airport (IPC), which is located 11,728 miles (18,874 kilometers) away in Easter Island, Chile.

Facts about Mercedita Airport (PSE):

• In the fall of 1992, the runway was extended to make it possible for American Airlines to run flights to Miami, Florida.
• 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.
• 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.
• Built in 1939, Mercedita was originally a modest aerodrome used for the airborne irrigation of sugarcane fields belonging to Destilería Serrallés.
• In addition to being known as "Mercedita Airport", other names for PSE include "Aeropuerto Mercedita" and "18.00'30"N, 66.33'47"W".
• 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.
• Mercedita Airport (PSE) currently has only 1 runway.
• 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.