Nonstop flight route between Ponta Delgada, Azores, Portugal and San Diego, California, United States:
Departure Airport:

Arrival Airport:

Distance from PDL to SDM:
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- About this route
- PDL Airport Information
- SDM Airport Information
- Facts about PDL
- Facts about SDM
- Map of Nearest Airports to PDL
- List of Nearest Airports to PDL
- Map of Furthest Airports from PDL
- List of Furthest Airports from PDL
- Map of Nearest Airports to SDM
- List of Nearest Airports to SDM
- Map of Furthest Airports from SDM
- List of Furthest Airports from SDM
About this route:
A direct, nonstop flight between João Paulo II Airport (PDL), Ponta Delgada, Azores, Portugal and Brown Field Municipal Airport (SDM), San Diego, California, United States would travel a Great Circle distance of 4,951 miles (or 7,968 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 João Paulo II Airport and Brown Field Municipal 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 João Paulo II Airport and Brown Field Municipal Airport. You'll see that it will travel the same route of the red line on this map!
Departure Airport Information:
IATA / ICAO Codes: | PDL / LPPD |
Airport Names: |
|
Location: | Ponta Delgada, Azores, Portugal |
GPS Coordinates: | 37°44'30"N by 25°41'52"W |
Area Served: | Ponta Delgada |
Operator/Owner: | Government of Portugal |
Airport Type: | Public |
Elevation: | 259 feet (79 meters) |
# of Runways: | 1 |
View all routes: | Routes from PDL |
More Information: | PDL Maps & Info |
Arrival Airport Information:
IATA / ICAO Codes: | SDM / KSDM |
Airport Name: | Brown Field Municipal Airport |
Location: | San Diego, California, United States |
GPS Coordinates: | 32°34'19"N by 116°58'49"W |
Area Served: | San Diego, California |
Operator/Owner: | City of San Diego |
Airport Type: | Public |
Elevation: | 526 feet (160 meters) |
# of Runways: | 2 |
View all routes: | Routes from SDM |
More Information: | SDM Maps & Info |
Facts about João Paulo II Airport (PDL):
- João Paulo II Airport (PDL) currently has only 1 runway.
- The closest airport to João Paulo II Airport (PDL) is Santa Maria Airport (SMA), which is located 60 miles (97 kilometers) SSE of PDL.
- João Paulo II Airport handled 928,801 passengers last year.
- Because of João Paulo II Airport's relatively low elevation of 259 feet, planes can take off or land at João Paulo II 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 addition to being known as "João Paulo II Airport", another name for PDL is "Aeroporto João Paulo II".
- The furthest airport from João Paulo II Airport (PDL) is Merimbula Airport (MIM), which is nearly antipodal to João Paulo II Airport (meaning João Paulo II Airport is almost on the exact opposite side of the Earth from Merimbula Airport), and is located 12,188 miles (19,615 kilometers) away in Merimbula, New South Wales, Australia.
Facts about Brown Field Municipal Airport (SDM):
- Brown Field Municipal Airport (SDM) has 2 runways.
- Brown Field Municipal Airport is in the Otay Mesa neighborhood of San Diego, California, 13 miles southeast of Downtown San Diego and named in honor of Commander Melville S.
- Because of Brown Field Municipal Airport's relatively low elevation of 526 feet, planes can take off or land at Brown Field Municipal 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 Brown Field Municipal Airport (SDM) is Tijuana International Airport (TIJ), which is located only 2 miles (4 kilometers) SSE of SDM.
- In 1951 the Navy reopened Brown Field due to increased military activity from the Korean War.
- The furthest airport from Brown Field Municipal Airport (SDM) is Sir Gaëtan Duval Airport (RRG), which is located 11,551 miles (18,590 kilometers) away in Rodrigues Island, Mauritius.
- Tijuana Airport, an airline airport, is just over 1 nmi to the south across the Mexico-United States border, with a similar length and a slightly different runway orientation.