Nonstop flight route between Ponce, Puerto Rico and Bălţi, Moldova:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Mercedita Airport (PSE), Ponce, Puerto Rico and Bălți-Leadoveni International Airport (BZY), Bălţi, Moldova would travel a Great Circle distance of 5,498 miles (or 8,849 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 Bălți-Leadoveni 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 Mercedita Airport and Bălți-Leadoveni International 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):

• 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.
• 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.
• The closest airport to Mercedita Airport (PSE) is Antonio (Nery) Juarbe Pol Airport (ARE), which is located 31 miles (51 kilometers) NNW of PSE.
• In the fall of 1992, the runway was extended to make it possible for American Airlines to run flights to Miami, Florida.
• 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.
• 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 addition to being known as "Mercedita Airport", other names for PSE include "Aeropuerto Mercedita" and "18.00'30"N, 66.33'47"W".
• 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.
• The airport is also home of the southern aerial division of the Puerto Rico Police Department.
• Mercedita Airport (PSE) currently has only 1 runway.

Facts about Bălți-Leadoveni International Airport (BZY):

• Bălți International Airport can be easily accessed by car, exiting Bălți in the northern direction, and following the highway E583.
• The closest airport to Bălți-Leadoveni International Airport (BZY) is Iași International Airport (IAS), which is located 46 miles (75 kilometers) S of BZY.
• The furthest airport from Bălți-Leadoveni International Airport (BZY) is Chatham Islands (CHT), which is located 11,243 miles (18,093 kilometers) away in Waitangi, Chatham Islands, New Zealand.
• Since the 1980s, Bălți International Airport became the most important airport in the north of Moldova.
• In addition to being known as "Bălți-Leadoveni International Airport", another name for BZY is "Aeroportul Internațional Leadoveni".
• Bălți-Leadoveni International Airport (BZY) currently has only 1 runway.
• Bălți International Airport used to be a home base for Tu-134 and Tu-154 passenger jets.
• The geographic position of Bălţi International Airport is internationally important as well, as the next airports in Romania and Ukraine, and especially in Moldova are competitive and economically viable only because of credit subventions and strong state protectionism, and much less through normal economic factors.
• Because of Bălți-Leadoveni International Airport's relatively low elevation of 758 feet, planes can take off or land at Bălți-Leadoveni 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.
• One third of all passengers on the daily route Chișinău-Frankfurt am Main come from Bălți and the northern districts of Moldova.