Nonstop flight route between Ponce, Puerto Rico and Erfurt, Germany:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Mercedita Airport (PSE), Ponce, Puerto Rico and Erfurt–Weimar Airport (ERF), Erfurt, Germany would travel a Great Circle distance of 4,720 miles (or 7,596 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 Erfurt–Weimar 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 Erfurt–Weimar 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 takeoff/landing strip was then only 850 feet long by 50 feet wide.
• 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.
• The airport is also home of the southern aerial division of the Puerto Rico Police Department.
• 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 Puerto Rico Ports Authority recently announced an investment of 7 million dollars to extend Mercedita's runway to 8,000 feet.
• Mercedita Airport (PSE) currently has only 1 runway.
• 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.
• 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.
• In the fall of 1992, the runway was extended to make it possible for American Airlines to run flights to Miami, Florida.
• 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 closest airport to Mercedita Airport (PSE) is Antonio (Nery) Juarbe Pol Airport (ARE), which is located 31 miles (51 kilometers) NNW of PSE.
• 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.

Facts about Erfurt–Weimar Airport (ERF):

• The airport consists of the two passenger terminal buildings A and B, but only the new Terminal B is currently in use.
• The furthest airport from Erfurt–Weimar Airport (ERF) is Chatham Islands (CHT), which is located 11,833 miles (19,043 kilometers) away in Waitangi, Chatham Islands, New Zealand.
• The airport's name was changed from Erfurt Airport in 2011, it was felt that from a marketing point of view the addition of Weimar to the name would better sell the area due to its historic importance.
• In addition to being known as "Erfurt–Weimar Airport", another name for ERF is "Flughafen Erfurt–Weimar".
• Erfurt–Weimar Airport (ERF) currently has only 1 runway.
• The closest airport to Erfurt–Weimar Airport (ERF) is Hof–Plauen Airport (HOQ), which is located 62 miles (99 kilometers) SE of ERF.
• The airport can be reached via nearby motorway A71 which leads from Erfurt to Schweinfurt in Bavaria.