Nonstop flight route between Ponce, Puerto Rico and Alpe d'Huez, France:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Mercedita Airport (PSE), Ponce, Puerto Rico and Alpe d'Huez Airport (AHZ), Alpe d'Huez, France would travel a Great Circle distance of 4,506 miles (or 7,252 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 Mercedita Airport and Alpe d'Huez 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 Mercedita Airport and Alpe d'Huez 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 Mercedita Airport (PSE):

• In February 2009, Ponce mayor María Meléndez sought transfer of the airport from the Puerto Rico central government to the Ponce Municipal government amidst discontent with the bureaucracy at the central government that could be avoided if the airport was locally managed.
• Mercedita Airport (PSE) currently has only 1 runway.
• 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.
• The airport has been enlarged on various occasions.
• 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.
• 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.
• As per Federal Aviation Administration records, the airport had 110,159 passenger boardings in calendar year 2008, 90,267 enplanements in 2009, and 97,660 in 2010.
• During 2007, more passengers passed through the airport than the population of the entire city of Ponce itself.
• 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 July 1, 2011, a Cessna 185 that was supposed to land at Mercedita airport with a family of five on board, registration number N8438Q, crashed while on its way from Culebra.

Facts about Alpe d'Huez Airport (AHZ):

• Because of Alpe d'Huez Airport's high elevation of 6,037 feet, planes must typically fly at a faster airspeed in order to takeoff or land at AHZ. Combined with a high temperature, this could make AHZ a "Hot & High" airport, where the air density is lower than it would otherwise be at sea level.
• The furthest airport from Alpe d'Huez Airport (AHZ) is Chatham Islands (CHT), which is nearly antipodal to Alpe d'Huez Airport (meaning Alpe d'Huez Airport is almost on the exact opposite side of the Earth from Chatham Islands), and is located 12,283 miles (19,768 kilometers) away in Waitangi, Chatham Islands, New Zealand.
• Alpe d'Huez Airport (AHZ) currently has only 1 runway.
• In addition to being known as "Alpe d'Huez Airport", another name for AHZ is "L'altiport de l'Alpe d'Huez".
• The closest airport to Alpe d'Huez Airport (AHZ) is Méribel Airport (MFX), which is located 33 miles (52 kilometers) NE of AHZ.