Nonstop flight route between Ponce, Puerto Rico and Johannesburg, South Africa:
Departure Airport:
Arrival Airport:
Distance from PSE to GCJ:
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- About this route
- PSE Airport Information
- GCJ Airport Information
- Facts about PSE
- Facts about GCJ
- Map of Nearest Airports to PSE
- List of Nearest Airports to PSE
- Map of Furthest Airports from PSE
- List of Furthest Airports from PSE
- Map of Nearest Airports to GCJ
- List of Nearest Airports to GCJ
- Map of Furthest Airports from GCJ
- List of Furthest Airports from GCJ
About this route:
A direct, nonstop flight between Mercedita Airport (PSE), Ponce, Puerto Rico and Grand Central Airport (GCJ), Johannesburg, South Africa would travel a Great Circle distance of 7,038 miles (or 11,326 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 Grand Central 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 Grand Central Airport. You'll see that it will travel the same route of the red line on this map!
Departure Airport Information:
IATA / ICAO Codes: | PSE / TJPS |
Airport Names: |
|
Location: | Ponce, Puerto Rico |
GPS Coordinates: | 18°0'29"N by 66°33'47"W |
Area Served: | Ponce, Puerto Rico |
Operator/Owner: | Puerto Rico Ports Authority |
Airport Type: | Public |
Elevation: | 29 feet (9 meters) |
# of Runways: | 1 |
View all routes: | Routes from PSE |
More Information: | PSE Maps & Info |
Arrival Airport Information:
IATA / ICAO Codes: | GCJ / FAGC |
Airport Name: | Grand Central Airport |
Location: | Johannesburg, South Africa |
GPS Coordinates: | 25°59'11"S by 28°8'24"E |
Area Served: | Johannesburg |
Operator/Owner: | Private |
Airport Type: | Public |
Elevation: | 5327 feet (1,624 meters) |
# of Runways: | 1 |
View all routes: | Routes from GCJ |
More Information: | GCJ Maps & Info |
Facts about Mercedita Airport (PSE):
- 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.
- 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 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 addition to being known as "Mercedita Airport", other names for PSE include "Aeropuerto Mercedita" and "18.00'30"N, 66.33'47"W".
- 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.
- The Puerto Rico Ports Authority recently announced an investment of 7 million dollars to extend Mercedita's runway to 8,000 feet.
- 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.
- Federal Express and DHL operate out of this airport for the distribution of surface freight.
- 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 Grand Central Airport (GCJ):
- The closest airport to Grand Central Airport (GCJ) is O. R. Tambo International Airport (JNB), which is located only 12 miles (20 kilometers) SSE of GCJ.
- The furthest airport from Grand Central Airport (GCJ) is Hana Airport (HNM), which is located 11,992 miles (19,299 kilometers) away in Hana, Hawaii, United States.
- Because of Grand Central Airport's high elevation of 5,327 feet, planes must typically fly at a faster airspeed in order to takeoff or land at GCJ. Combined with a high temperature, this could make GCJ a "Hot & High" airport, where the air density is lower than it would otherwise be at sea level.
- Grand Central Airport (GCJ) currently has only 1 runway.
- This is a small airfield that is restricted to light aircraft only.