Nonstop flight route between Ponce, Puerto Rico and Dien Bien Phu, Vietnam:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Mercedita Airport (PSE), Ponce, Puerto Rico and Dien Bien Phu Airport (DIN), Dien Bien Phu, Vietnam would travel a Great Circle distance of 9,624 miles (or 15,489 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 Dien Bien Phu 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 Dien Bien Phu 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 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.
• 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 (PSE) currently has only 1 runway.
• In 1949, however, it was determined that the runway of the Ponce Airport at the nearby Losey Field no longer met the newer and more stringent minimum airport safety requirements, and airport operations were suspended.
• The Puerto Rico Ports Authority recently announced an investment of 7 million dollars to extend Mercedita's runway to 8,000 feet.
• 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.
• In addition to being known as "Mercedita Airport", other names for PSE include "Aeropuerto Mercedita" and "18.00'30"N, 66.33'47"W".
• The first scheduled commercial flights at Mercedita occurred in 1965 when domestic flights started.
• 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.
• 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.

Facts about Dien Bien Phu Airport (DIN):

• The furthest airport from Dien Bien Phu Airport (DIN) is Carolina Airport (CLN), which is located 11,998 miles (19,308 kilometers) away in Carolina, Maranhão, Brazil.
• Dien Bien Phu Airport (DIN) currently has only 1 runway.
• In addition to being known as "Dien Bien Phu Airport", another name for DIN is "Sân bay Điện Biên Phủ".
• The closest airport to Dien Bien Phu Airport (DIN) is Oudomsay Airport (ODY), which is located 82 miles (132 kilometers) SW of DIN.