Nonstop flight route between Ponce, Puerto Rico and Sheldon Point, Alaska, United States:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Mercedita Airport (PSE), Ponce, Puerto Rico and Sheldon Point Airport (SXP), Sheldon Point, Alaska, United States would travel a Great Circle distance of 5,377 miles (or 8,653 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 Sheldon Point 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 Sheldon Point 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 the fall of 1992, the runway was extended to make it possible for American Airlines to run flights to Miami, Florida.
• 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.
• Mercedita Airport covers an area of 274 acres at an elevation of 29 feet above mean sea level.
• 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.
• The closest airport to Mercedita Airport (PSE) is Antonio (Nery) Juarbe Pol Airport (ARE), which is located 31 miles (51 kilometers) NNW of 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.
• 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 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.

Facts about Sheldon Point Airport (SXP):

• The furthest airport from Sheldon Point Airport (SXP) is Cape Town International Airport (CPT), which is located 10,458 miles (16,831 kilometers) away in Cape Town, South Africa.
• The closest airport to Sheldon Point Airport (SXP) is Alakanuk Airport (AUK), which is located only 13 miles (20 kilometers) NNE of SXP.
• Because of Sheldon Point Airport's relatively low elevation of 12 feet, planes can take off or land at Sheldon Point 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.
• Sheldon Point Airport (SXP) has 3 runways.
• In addition to being known as "Sheldon Point Airport", another name for SXP is "none".