Nonstop flight route between Ponce, Puerto Rico and Babo, Western New Guinea, Indonesia:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Mercedita Airport (PSE), Ponce, Puerto Rico and Babo Airport (BXB), Babo, Western New Guinea, Indonesia would travel a Great Circle distance of 10,713 miles (or 17,240 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 Babo 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 Babo 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):

• After Ponce's mayor Rafael Cordero signed a contract to build a major seaport in the area, Mercedita's directors decided to expand the airport's runway to 8,000 ft to accommodate anticipated growth in airline traffic.
• 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.
• 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.
• In the fall of 1992, the runway was extended to make it possible for American Airlines to run flights to Miami, Florida.
• 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 closest airport to Mercedita Airport (PSE) is Antonio (Nery) Juarbe Pol Airport (ARE), which is located 31 miles (51 kilometers) NNW of PSE.
• The takeoff/landing strip was then only 850 feet long by 50 feet wide.
• In addition to being known as "Mercedita Airport", other names for PSE include "Aeropuerto Mercedita" and "18.00'30"N, 66.33'47"W".
• 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.

Facts about Babo Airport (BXB):

• In addition to being known as "Babo Airport", another name for BXB is "Bandar Udara Babo".
• The closest airport to Babo Airport (BXB) is Kaimana Airport (KNG), which is located 78 miles (126 kilometers) SSE of BXB.
• Babo Airport (BXB) currently has only 1 runway.
• The furthest airport from Babo Airport (BXB) is Belém/Val de Cans–Júlio Cezar Ribeiro International Airport (BEL), which is nearly antipodal to Babo Airport (meaning Babo Airport is almost on the exact opposite side of the Earth from Belém/Val de Cans–Júlio Cezar Ribeiro International Airport), and is located 12,135 miles (19,529 kilometers) away in Belém, Pará, Brazil.
• Because of Babo Airport's relatively low elevation of 10 feet, planes can take off or land at Babo 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.