Nonstop flight route between Pierre, South Dakota, United States and Ponce, Puerto Rico:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Pierre Regional Airport (PIR), Pierre, South Dakota, United States and Mercedita Airport (PSE), Ponce, Puerto Rico would travel a Great Circle distance of 2,667 miles (or 4,292 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 Pierre Regional 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 Pierre Regional 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 Pierre Regional Airport (PIR):

• In addition to being known as "Pierre Regional Airport", another name for PIR is "Pierre Army Airfield".
• The closest airport to Pierre Regional Airport (PIR) is Mobridge Municipal Airport (MBG), which is located 81 miles (130 kilometers) N of PIR.
• Pierre Regional Airport covers 1,735 acres at an elevation of 1,744 feet above mean sea level.
• A new terminal has been designed, and construction began in late Spring, 2011.
• Pierre Regional Airport is a city owned, public airport three miles east of Pierre, in Hughes County, South Dakota.
• Pierre Regional Airport (PIR) has 2 runways.
• The furthest airport from Pierre Regional Airport (PIR) is Sir Gaëtan Duval Airport (RRG), which is located 10,493 miles (16,887 kilometers) away in Rodrigues Island, Mauritius.

Facts about Mercedita Airport (PSE):

• 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.
• In addition to being known as "Mercedita Airport", other names for PSE include "Aeropuerto Mercedita" and "18.00'30"N, 66.33'47"W".
• 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.
• Mercedita Airport (PSE) currently has only 1 runway.
• Mercedita Airport is a public use airport located three nautical miles east of the central business district of Ponce, Puerto Rico.
• The airport is also home of the southern aerial division of the Puerto Rico Police Department.
• 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 early 2010, members of the Ponce Chamber of Commerce strongly criticized the Puerto Rico Ports Authority and its director Alvaro Pilar Villagran after failure to execute on a legally binding agreement of November 2008, whereby the Ports Authority agreed to an investment of $8 million to build an airport drainage system needed as part of any additional expansion work.
• The closest airport to Mercedita Airport (PSE) is Antonio (Nery) Juarbe Pol Airport (ARE), which is located 31 miles (51 kilometers) NNW of PSE.
• 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.