Nonstop flight route between Ponce, Puerto Rico and Gladstone, Queensland, Australia:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Mercedita Airport (PSE), Ponce, Puerto Rico and Gladstone Airport (GLT), Gladstone, Queensland, Australia would travel a Great Circle distance of 9,972 miles (or 16,049 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 Gladstone 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 Gladstone 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):

• The closest airport to Mercedita Airport (PSE) is Antonio (Nery) Juarbe Pol Airport (ARE), which is located 31 miles (51 kilometers) NNW of PSE.
• Realtime departures and arrivals information is available online.
• 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.
• Built in 1939, Mercedita was originally a modest aerodrome used for the airborne irrigation of sugarcane fields belonging to Destilería Serrallés.
• 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.
• 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.
• 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 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.
• Mercedita Airport (PSE) currently has only 1 runway.

Facts about Gladstone Airport (GLT):

• The closest airport to Gladstone Airport (GLT) is Rockhampton Airport (ROK), which is located 58 miles (94 kilometers) NW of GLT.
• Gladstone Airport (GLT) currently has only 1 runway.
• The furthest airport from Gladstone Airport (GLT) is Agostinho Neto Airport (NTO), which is located 11,918 miles (19,180 kilometers) away in Ponta do Sol, Santo Antão, Cape Verde.
• As of March 2008, QantasLink was scheduled to operate about 38 return services per week between Gladstone and Brisbane using Dash 8 aircraft with seating from 50 to 74 passengers.
• The airport is owned and operated by the Gladstone Regional Council which took control of it by operation of the Local Government Reform when the Gladstone-Calliope Aerodrome Board was dissolved on 15 March 2007.
• Because of Gladstone Airport's relatively low elevation of 59 feet, planes can take off or land at Gladstone 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.
• Gladstone Airport was ranked 27th in Australia for the number of revenue passengers served in financial year 2010-2011.