Nonstop flight route between Ponce, Puerto Rico and Tegucigalpa, Honduras:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Mercedita Airport (PSE), Ponce, Puerto Rico and Toncontín International Airport (TGU), Tegucigalpa, Honduras would travel a Great Circle distance of 1,397 miles (or 2,249 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 Toncontín 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):

• 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.
• 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.
• 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.
• 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 first scheduled commercial flights at Mercedita occurred in 1965 when domestic flights started.
• 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.
• Mercedita Airport (PSE) currently has only 1 runway.

Facts about Toncontín International Airport (TGU):

• The closest airport to Toncontín International Airport (TGU) is Soto Cano Air Base (XPL), which is located 35 miles (56 kilometers) NW of TGU.
• The furthest airport from Toncontín International Airport (TGU) is Cocos (Keeling) Island Airport (CCK), which is nearly antipodal to Toncontín International Airport (meaning Toncontín International Airport is almost on the exact opposite side of the Earth from Cocos (Keeling) Island Airport), and is located 12,135 miles (19,530 kilometers) away in Cocos Islands, Australia.
• The Aviator Luigi Venditti conducted several flights using the natural floodplain from Toncontín.
• The origin of the name Toncontín is unknown, but experts say that it is a word derived from the Nahuatl word "Tocotín", the name of an ancient and sacred dance of Yucatan, Mexico.
• In addition to being known as "Toncontín International Airport", another name for TGU is "Aeropuerto Internacional Toncontín".
• Toncontín International Airport handled 493,000 passengers last year.
• The airport received much notoriety as being one of the most dangerous in the world due to its proximity to mountainous terrain, its short runway, and its historically difficult approach to runway 02.
• Toncontín International Airport (TGU) currently has only 1 runway.
• On May 30, 2008, the tragedy of TACA Flight 390 prompted the announcement by then Honduran President Manuel Zelaya that all large aircraft operations would move to the Soto Cano Air Base.