Nonstop flight route between Ponce, Puerto Rico and Dipolog City, Zamboanga del Norte, Philippines:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Mercedita Airport (PSE), Ponce, Puerto Rico and Dipolog Airport (DPL), Dipolog City, Zamboanga del Norte, Philippines would travel a Great Circle distance of 10,478 miles (or 16,863 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 Dipolog 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 Dipolog 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 June 24, 1972, Prinair Flight 191, which took off from Luis Muñoz Marín International Airport in San Juan, Puerto Rico, crashed while attempting to land at Mercedita Airport.
• The airport is also home of the southern aerial division of the Puerto Rico Police Department.
• The airport has been enlarged on various occasions.
• In addition to being known as "Mercedita Airport", other names for PSE include "Aeropuerto Mercedita" and "18.00'30"N, 66.33'47"W".
• Mercedita Airport (PSE) currently has only 1 runway.
• 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.
• 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 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.
• As per Federal Aviation Administration records, the airport had 110,159 passenger boardings in calendar year 2008, 90,267 enplanements in 2009, and 97,660 in 2010.
• The closest airport to Mercedita Airport (PSE) is Antonio (Nery) Juarbe Pol Airport (ARE), which is located 31 miles (51 kilometers) NNW of PSE.

Facts about Dipolog Airport (DPL):

• The original terminal was made of composite wood material located at the northern side of the runway near the Philippine Constabulary Camp, now Camp Hamac in Sicayab.
• In 2002, at least 25% of the passenger traffic bound for Dipolog Airport are composed of foreign tourists.
• In addition to being known as "Dipolog Airport", another name for DPL is "Paliparan ng Dipolog".
• The airport's strategic location during World War II and the liberation of Zamboanga and Mindanao by American and Philippine Commonwealth Forces in 1945 prompted the national government to develop the field as an alternate airport to Zamboanga International Airport principally for national security reasons arising from natural and man made emergencies.
• Dipolog Airport (DPL) currently has only 1 runway.
• The furthest airport from Dipolog Airport (DPL) is Piloto Osvaldo Marques Dias Airport (AFL), which is nearly antipodal to Dipolog Airport (meaning Dipolog Airport is almost on the exact opposite side of the Earth from Piloto Osvaldo Marques Dias Airport), and is located 12,341 miles (19,862 kilometers) away in Alta Floresta, Brazil.
• The terminal building, which originally had a capacity of 170 passengers, now has a seating capacity of 300 passengers due to new flights offered by Cebu Pacific.
• Dipolog Airport handled 165,163 passengers last year.
• The closest airport to Dipolog Airport (DPL) is Labo Airport (OZC), which is located 45 miles (73 kilometers) SE of DPL.
• Because of Dipolog Airport's relatively low elevation of 12 feet, planes can take off or land at Dipolog 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 new parking area would have a capacity of 100 vehicles when completed by the end of the year.