Nonstop flight route between Ponce, Puerto Rico and Curitiba, Paraná, Brazil:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Mercedita Airport (PSE), Ponce, Puerto Rico and Afonso Pena International Airport (CWB), Curitiba, Paraná, Brazil would travel a Great Circle distance of 3,227 miles (or 5,194 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 Afonso Pena 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 Afonso Pena 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):

• Federal Express and DHL operate out of this airport for the distribution of surface freight.
• In addition to being known as "Mercedita Airport", other names for PSE include "Aeropuerto Mercedita" and "18.00'30"N, 66.33'47"W".
• On June 17, 2005, JetBlue Airways began daily, non-stop service between John F.
• 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 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.
• Mercedita Airport is a public use airport located three nautical miles east of the central business district of Ponce, Puerto Rico.
• Mercedita Airport (PSE) currently has only 1 runway.
• 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.
• 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.
• 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.
• Built in 1939, Mercedita was originally a modest aerodrome used for the airborne irrigation of sugarcane fields belonging to Destilería Serrallés.

Facts about Afonso Pena International Airport (CWB):

• Afonso Pena International Airport (CWB) has 2 runways.
• The furthest airport from Afonso Pena International Airport (CWB) is Minami-Daito Airport (MMD), which is nearly antipodal to Afonso Pena International Airport (meaning Afonso Pena International Airport is almost on the exact opposite side of the Earth from Minami-Daito Airport), and is located 12,402 miles (19,959 kilometers) away in Minami Daito, Okinawa, Japan.
• On 31 August 2009, Infraero unveiled a BRL30 million investiment plan to upgrade Afonso Pena International Airport focusing on the preparations for the 2014 FIFA World Cup which will be held in Brazil, Curitiba being one of the venue cities.
• Since the bottleneck for the airport is the cargo capacity, the main runway was lengthened in 2008 to allow cargo flights to operate with greater loads and the cargo terminal was upgraded.
• The main problem of the airport are the unstable weather conditions of the region, particularly fog and smog in the morning hours of winter and the fact that the auxiliary runway 11/29 is too small and plagued with old equipment.
• As it was the case with many important Brazilian airports located in strategic points along the coast, Afonso Pena, was built by the Brazilian Air Force Ministry in partnership with the United States Army during the Second World War.
• Afonso Pena International Airport handled 6,825,666 passengers last year.
• The closest airport to Afonso Pena International Airport (CWB) is Bacacheri Airport (BFH), which is located only 10 miles (15 kilometers) NNW of CWB.
• In addition to being known as "Afonso Pena International Airport", another name for CWB is "Aeroporto Internacional Afonso Pena".