Nonstop flight route between Ponce, Puerto Rico and Lod (near Tel Aviv), Israel:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Mercedita Airport (PSE), Ponce, Puerto Rico and Ben Gurion Airport (TLV), Lod (near Tel Aviv), Israel would travel a Great Circle distance of 6,203 miles (or 9,983 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 Ben Gurion 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 Ben Gurion 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):

• 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 Puerto Rico Ports Authority recently announced an investment of 7 million dollars to extend Mercedita's runway to 8,000 feet.
• 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 the fall of 1992, the runway was extended to make it possible for American Airlines to run flights to Miami, Florida.
• 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.
• Mercedita Airport is a public use airport located three nautical miles east of the central business district of Ponce, Puerto Rico.
• 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.
• The airport has been enlarged on various occasions.
• 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 Ben Gurion Airport (TLV):

• The furthest airport from Ben Gurion Airport (TLV) is Rurutu Airport (RUR), which is located 11,672 miles (18,784 kilometers) away in Rurutu, French Polynesia.
• The closest airport to Ben Gurion Airport (TLV) is Sde Dov Airport (SDV), which is located only 9 miles (15 kilometers) NW of TLV.
• The head office of El Al is located at Ben Gurion Airport, as is the head office of the Israel Airports Authority, and the head office of the Civil Aviation Authority.CAL Cargo Air Lines has its head office in the Airport City development of Ben Gurion.
• Ben Gurion airport is considered one of the world's most secure airports, with a security force that includes Israel Police officers, IDF and Israel Border Police soldiers.
• Work on Natbag 2000, as the Terminal 3 project was known, was scheduled for completion prior to 2000 in order to handle a massive influx of pilgrims expected for the Millennium celebrations.
• With passenger traffic projected to increase, plans were drawn in the 1980s and 90s for the extension of runways 03/21 and 08/26 as a means of alleviating some of Ben Gurion's safety and capacity concerns.
• Ben Gurion Airport (TLV) has 3 runways.
• Because of Ben Gurion Airport's relatively low elevation of 134 feet, planes can take off or land at Ben Gurion 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 "Ben Gurion Airport", another name for TLV is "נְמַל הַתְּעוּפָה בֵּן גּוּרְיוֹן".
• In February 2006, the Israel Airports Authority announced plans to invest 4.3 million NIS in a new VIP wing for private jet passengers and crews, as well as others interested in avoiding the main terminal.