Nonstop flight route between Ponce, Puerto Rico and Nouméa, New Caledonia:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Mercedita Airport (PSE), Ponce, Puerto Rico and Nouméa Magenta Airport (GEA), Nouméa, New Caledonia would travel a Great Circle distance of 9,001 miles (or 14,485 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 Nouméa Magenta 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 Nouméa Magenta 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):

• 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.
• Mercedita Airport (PSE) currently has only 1 runway.
• 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.
• 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 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.
• During 2007, more passengers passed through the airport than the population of the entire city of Ponce itself.
• 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.
• After Ponce's mayor Rafael Cordero signed a contract to build a major seaport in the area, Mercedita's directors decided to expand the airport's runway to 8,000 ft to accommodate anticipated growth in airline traffic.
• 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.
• Mercedita Airport is a public use airport located three nautical miles east of the central business district of Ponce, Puerto Rico.
• In addition to being known as "Mercedita Airport", other names for PSE include "Aeropuerto Mercedita" and "18.00'30"N, 66.33'47"W".

Facts about Nouméa Magenta Airport (GEA):

• The furthest airport from Nouméa Magenta Airport (GEA) is Fderik Airport (FGD), which is nearly antipodal to Nouméa Magenta Airport (meaning Nouméa Magenta Airport is almost on the exact opposite side of the Earth from Fderik Airport), and is located 12,379 miles (19,922 kilometers) away in Fderik, Mauritania.
• The closest airport to Nouméa Magenta Airport (GEA) is Tontouta International Airport (NOU), which is located 23 miles (38 kilometers) NW of GEA.
• Because of Nouméa Magenta Airport's relatively low elevation of 33 feet, planes can take off or land at Nouméa Magenta 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.
• Nouméa Magenta Airport (GEA) currently has only 1 runway.
• In addition to being known as "Nouméa Magenta Airport", another name for GEA is "l'Aéroport de Nouméa Magenta".