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

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Tribhuvan International Airport (KTM), Kathmandu, Nepal and Mercedita Airport (PSE), Ponce, Puerto Rico would travel a Great Circle distance of 8,762 miles (or 14,101 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 Tribhuvan International 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 Tribhuvan International 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 Tribhuvan International Airport (KTM):

• The airport is now again connected to Europe with service by Turkish Airlines to Istanbul, after a long gap without service to Europe when Royal Nepal ended their flights to Frankfurt and London in 2001.
• Because of Tribhuvan International Airport's high elevation of 4,390 feet, planes must typically fly at a faster airspeed in order to takeoff or land at KTM. Combined with a high temperature, this could make KTM a "Hot & High" airport, where the air density is lower than it would otherwise be at sea level.
• The furthest airport from Tribhuvan International Airport (KTM) is Mataveri International Airport (IPC), which is located 11,530 miles (18,556 kilometers) away in Easter Island, Chile.
• Tribhuvan International Airport handled 3,405,015 passengers last year.
• Tribhuvan International Airport (KTM) currently has only 1 runway.
• In addition to being known as "Tribhuvan International Airport", another name for KTM is "त्रिभुवन अन्तर्राष्ट्रिय विमानस्थल".
• In 1955 the airport was inaugurated by King Mahendra and renamed Tribhuvan Airport in memory of the king's father.
• The closest airport to Tribhuvan International Airport (KTM) is Ramechhap Airport (RHP), which is located 48 miles (77 kilometers) ESE of KTM.

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.
• The airport is also home of the southern aerial division of the Puerto Rico Police Department.
• On June 24, 1972, Prinair Flight 191, which took off from Luis Muñoz Marín International Airport in San Juan, Puerto Rico, crashed while attempting to land at Mercedita Airport.
• During 2007, more passengers passed through the airport than the population of the entire city of Ponce itself.
• The first scheduled commercial flights at Mercedita occurred in 1965 when domestic flights started.
• Mercedita Airport (PSE) currently has only 1 runway.
• 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.
• 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.
• 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".
• 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.