Nonstop flight route between Ponce, Puerto Rico and Doha, Qatar:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Mercedita Airport (PSE), Ponce, Puerto Rico and Hamad International Airport (DOH), Doha, Qatar would travel a Great Circle distance of 7,317 miles (or 11,776 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 Hamad 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 Hamad 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):

• Built in 1939, Mercedita was originally a modest aerodrome used for the airborne irrigation of sugarcane fields belonging to Destilería Serrallés.
• 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 closest airport to Mercedita Airport (PSE) is Antonio (Nery) Juarbe Pol Airport (ARE), which is located 31 miles (51 kilometers) NNW of PSE.
• 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.
• 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.
• 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 early 2010, members of the Ponce Chamber of Commerce strongly criticized the Puerto Rico Ports Authority and its director Alvaro Pilar Villagran after failure to execute on a legally binding agreement of November 2008, whereby the Ports Authority agreed to an investment of $8 million to build an airport drainage system needed as part of any additional expansion work.
• 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.
• Mercedita Airport (PSE) currently has only 1 runway.
• The airport is also home of the southern aerial division of the Puerto Rico Police Department.
• 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.

Facts about Hamad International Airport (DOH):

• Hamad International Airport (DOH) has 2 runways.
• In addition to being known as "Hamad International Airport", other names for DOH include "مطار حمد الدولي" and "OTHH[1]".
• The furthest airport from Hamad International Airport (DOH) is Totegegie Airport (GMR), which is nearly antipodal to Hamad International Airport (meaning Hamad International Airport is almost on the exact opposite side of the Earth from Totegegie Airport), and is located 12,001 miles (19,313 kilometers) away in Mangareva, Gambier Islands, French Polynesia.
• Abdul Aziz Al Noaimi, chairman of the Qatar Civil Aviation Authority as well as a spokesperson from Qatar Airways, the operator of the airport and main customer, have indicated that the airport is named Hamad International Airport when it opens on April 30, 2014.
• Cargo operations began from 1 December 2013, with an inaugural flight by Qatar Airways Cargo arriving from Europe.
• The closest airport to Hamad International Airport (DOH) is Al-Udeid Air Base (IUD), which is located 21 miles (34 kilometers) WSW of DOH.
• Because of Hamad International Airport's relatively low elevation of 13 feet, planes can take off or land at Hamad 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.