Nonstop flight route between Melilla, (Spanish exclave in Morocco) and Ponce, Puerto Rico:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Melilla Airport (MLN), Melilla, (Spanish exclave in Morocco) and Mercedita Airport (PSE), Ponce, Puerto Rico would travel a Great Circle distance of 4,037 miles (or 6,496 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 Melilla 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 Melilla 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 Melilla Airport (MLN):

• The closest airport to Melilla Airport (MLN) is Cherif Al Idrissi Airport (AHU), which is located 50 miles (81 kilometers) W of MLN.
• The furthest airport from Melilla Airport (MLN) is Great Barrier Aerodrome (GBZ), which is nearly antipodal to Melilla Airport (meaning Melilla Airport is almost on the exact opposite side of the Earth from Great Barrier Aerodrome), and is located 12,326 miles (19,837 kilometers) away in Great Barrier Island, New Zealand.
• Because of Melilla Airport's relatively low elevation of 156 feet, planes can take off or land at Melilla 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 1969, the current airport was opened within Melilla's borders and was strictly a civilian facility.
• In addition to being known as "Melilla Airport", another name for MLN is "Aeropuerto de Melilla".
• Melilla Airport (MLN) currently has only 1 runway.

Facts about Mercedita Airport (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.
• 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.
• 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.
• 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 addition to being known as "Mercedita Airport", other names for PSE include "Aeropuerto Mercedita" and "18.00'30"N, 66.33'47"W".
• Mercedita Airport (PSE) currently has only 1 runway.
• The airport has been enlarged on various occasions.
• 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 airport is also home of the southern aerial division of the Puerto Rico Police Department.
• 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.