Nonstop flight route between Phaplu, Nepal and Philipsburg, Sint Maarten, Kingdom of the Netherlands:
Departure Airport:

Arrival Airport:

Distance from PPL to SXM:
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- About this route
- PPL Airport Information
- SXM Airport Information
- Facts about PPL
- Facts about SXM
- Map of Nearest Airports to PPL
- List of Nearest Airports to PPL
- Map of Furthest Airports from PPL
- List of Furthest Airports from PPL
- Map of Nearest Airports to SXM
- List of Nearest Airports to SXM
- Map of Furthest Airports from SXM
- List of Furthest Airports from SXM
About this route:
A direct, nonstop flight between Phaplu Airport (PPL), Phaplu, Nepal and Princess Juliana International Airport (SXM), Philipsburg, Sint Maarten, Kingdom of the Netherlands would travel a Great Circle distance of 8,692 miles (or 13,988 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 Phaplu Airport and Princess Juliana International 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 Phaplu Airport and Princess Juliana International Airport. You'll see that it will travel the same route of the red line on this map!
Departure Airport Information:
IATA / ICAO Codes: | PPL / VNPL |
Airport Name: | Phaplu Airport |
Location: | Phaplu, Nepal |
GPS Coordinates: | 27°31'5"N by 86°35'3"E |
Area Served: | Phaplu, Nepal |
Airport Type: | Public |
Elevation: | 7918 feet (2,413 meters) |
View all routes: | Routes from PPL |
More Information: | PPL Maps & Info |
Arrival Airport Information:
IATA / ICAO Codes: | SXM / TNCM |
Airport Name: | Princess Juliana International Airport |
Location: | Philipsburg, Sint Maarten, Kingdom of the Netherlands |
GPS Coordinates: | 18°2'26"N by 63°6'33"W |
Operator/Owner: | Princess Juliana Int'l Airport Holding Company N.V. |
Airport Type: | Public |
Elevation: | 14 feet (4 meters) |
# of Runways: | 1 |
View all routes: | Routes from SXM |
More Information: | SXM Maps & Info |
Facts about Phaplu Airport (PPL):
- The closest airport to Phaplu Airport (PPL) is Tenzing-Hillary Airport (LUA), which is located only 15 miles (24 kilometers) NE of PPL.
- Because of Phaplu Airport's high elevation of 7,918 feet, planes must typically fly at a faster airspeed in order to takeoff or land at PPL. Combined with a high temperature, this could make PPL a "Hot & High" airport, where the air density is lower than it would otherwise be at sea level.
- The furthest airport from Phaplu Airport (PPL) is Mataveri International Airport (IPC), which is located 11,455 miles (18,435 kilometers) away in Easter Island, Chile.
Facts about Princess Juliana International Airport (SXM):
- The furthest airport from Princess Juliana International Airport (SXM) is Karratha Airport (KTA), which is nearly antipodal to Princess Juliana International Airport (meaning Princess Juliana International Airport is almost on the exact opposite side of the Earth from Karratha Airport), and is located 12,252 miles (19,718 kilometers) away in Karratha / Dampier, Western Australia, Australia.
- Phase II included the construction of a radar facility and a new air traffic control tower, the construction of a new and more modern, 27,000 square metres, terminal, capable of handling 2.5 million passengers per year, and the construction of a Runway End Safety Area of 150 metres, including a 60 metres overrun, on both ends of its runway, to comply with ICAO rules.
- Since official opening of the new control tower, PJIA air traffic controllers have two radar systems at their disposal with ranges of 50 nautical miles and 250 nautical miles.
- Because of Princess Juliana International Airport's relatively low elevation of 14 feet, planes can take off or land at Princess Juliana International 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.
- Princess Juliana International Airport (SXM) currently has only 1 runway.
- Despite the reputed difficulties in approach, there have been no records of major incidents at the airport, although ALM Flight 980 crashed 30 miles from St.
- The closest airport to Princess Juliana International Airport (SXM) is L'Espérance Airport Grand Case Airport (CCE), which is located only 6 miles (9 kilometers) NE of SXM.