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):

• In addition to being known as "Mercedita Airport", other names for PSE include "Aeropuerto Mercedita" and "18.00'30"N, 66.33'47"W".
• Federal Express and DHL operate out of this airport for the distribution of surface freight.
• Mercedita Airport (PSE) currently has only 1 runway.
• The closest airport to Mercedita Airport (PSE) is Antonio (Nery) Juarbe Pol Airport (ARE), which is located 31 miles (51 kilometers) NNW of 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.
• The Puerto Rico Ports Authority recently announced an investment of 7 million dollars to extend Mercedita's runway to 8,000 feet.
• The first scheduled commercial flights at Mercedita occurred in 1965 when domestic flights started.
• 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.

Facts about Afonso Pena International Airport (CWB):

• Afonso Pena International Airport (CWB) has 2 runways.
• Afonso Pena International Airport handled 6,825,666 passengers last year.
• In addition to being known as "Afonso Pena International Airport", another name for CWB is "Aeroporto Internacional Afonso Pena".
• Afonso Pena International Airport is the main airport serving Curitiba, Brazil, located in the adjoining municipality of São José dos Pinhais.
• The closest airport to Afonso Pena International Airport (CWB) is Bacacheri Airport (BFH), which is located only 10 miles (15 kilometers) NNW of CWB.
• 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.
• 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.
• In 2012 the airport was ranked 10th in terms of transported passengers and 7th in terms of cargo handled in Brazil, placing it amongst the busiest airports in the country.
• 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.