Nonstop flight route between Ponce, Puerto Rico and Portland, Victoria, Australia:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Mercedita Airport (PSE), Ponce, Puerto Rico and Portland Airport (PTJ), Portland, Victoria, Australia would travel a Great Circle distance of 10,243 miles (or 16,484 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 Portland 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 Portland 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):

• 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.
• Mercedita Airport covers an area of 274 acres at an elevation of 29 feet above mean sea level.
• 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.
• 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 first scheduled commercial flights at Mercedita occurred in 1965 when domestic flights started.
• 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.
• 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.
• 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.
• 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.

Facts about Portland Airport (PTJ):

• The furthest airport from Portland Airport (PTJ) is Flores Airport (FLW), which is nearly antipodal to Portland Airport (meaning Portland Airport is almost on the exact opposite side of the Earth from Flores Airport), and is located 12,031 miles (19,363 kilometers) away in Flores Island, Azores, Portugal.
• Portland Airport (PTJ) has 2 runways.
• The closest airport to Portland Airport (PTJ) is Warrnambool Airport (WMB), which is located 53 miles (85 kilometers) E of PTJ.
• Because of Portland Airport's relatively low elevation of 265 feet, planes can take off or land at Portland 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.