Nonstop flight route between Lewiston, Idaho, United States and Ponce, Puerto Rico:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Lewiston-Nez Perce County Airport (LWS), Lewiston, Idaho, United States and Mercedita Airport (PSE), Ponce, Puerto Rico would travel a Great Circle distance of 3,461 miles (or 5,570 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 Lewiston-Nez Perce County 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 Lewiston-Nez Perce County 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 Lewiston-Nez Perce County Airport (LWS):

• Lewiston was served by West Coast Airlines Fairchild F-27s during the 1960s.
• The 2013 Federal sequester will result in the closure of the airport's contract control tower and will require pilots to rely on air traffic controllers from other area airports.
• The furthest airport from Lewiston-Nez Perce County Airport (LWS) is Tôlanaro Airport (FTU), which is located 10,717 miles (17,248 kilometers) away in Tôlanaro, Madagascar.
• The closest airport to Lewiston-Nez Perce County Airport (LWS) is Pullman-Moscow Regional Airport (PUW), which is located 26 miles (42 kilometers) N of LWS.
• Lewiston-Nez Perce County Airport (LWS) has 2 runways.

Facts about Mercedita Airport (PSE):

• Mercedita Airport (PSE) currently has only 1 runway.
• 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.
• In the fall of 1992, the runway was extended to make it possible for American Airlines to run flights to Miami, Florida.
• The airport is also home of the southern aerial division of the Puerto Rico Police Department.
• 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.
• 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.
• The closest airport to Mercedita Airport (PSE) is Antonio (Nery) Juarbe Pol Airport (ARE), which is located 31 miles (51 kilometers) NNW of PSE.
• 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.