Nonstop flight route between Ponce, Puerto Rico and Orlando, Florida, United States:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Mercedita Airport (PSE), Ponce, Puerto Rico and Orlando International Airport (MCO), Orlando, Florida, United States would travel a Great Circle distance of 1,179 miles (or 1,898 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 relatively short distance between Mercedita Airport and Orlando International Airport, the route shown on this map most likely still appears to be a straight line.

Departure Airport Information:

Arrival Airport Information:

Facts about Mercedita Airport (PSE):

• 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.
• 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.
• 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 takeoff/landing strip was then only 850 feet long by 50 feet wide.
• Mercedita Airport (PSE) currently has only 1 runway.
• In addition to being known as "Mercedita Airport", other names for PSE include "Aeropuerto Mercedita" and "18.00'30"N, 66.33'47"W".
• 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.
• 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.
• 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.
• Mercedita Airport covers an area of 274 acres at an elevation of 29 feet above mean sea level.
• 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.

Facts about Orlando International Airport (MCO):

• Orlando International Airport (MCO) has 4 runways.
• Military operations began in 1942 as Orlando Army Air Field #2, an auxiliary airfield to Orlando Army Air Base which is now known as Orlando Executive Airport.
• Airside 4 currently serves as the airport's primary international arrivals concourse, however Airside 1 also handles some international arrivals.
• Because of Orlando International Airport's relatively low elevation of 96 feet, planes can take off or land at Orlando International 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 furthest airport from Orlando International Airport (MCO) is Shark Bay Airport (MJK), which is located 11,506 miles (18,517 kilometers) away in Monkey Mia, Western Australia, Australia.
• In 1978, construction of the current Landside Terminal and Airsides 1 and 3 began, opening in 1981.
• MCO was a designated Space Shuttle emergency landing site.
• In late 2007, Lufthansa introduced flights to Frankfurt.
• In October 2006, MCO opened a 100-space Cell Phone Parking Lot for drivers to use while waiting for passengers to arrive.
• The closest airport to Orlando International Airport (MCO) is Orlando Executive Airport (ORL), which is located only 8 miles (13 kilometers) N of MCO.
• Orlando International Airport handled 34,877,899 passengers last year.