Nonstop flight route between Ponce, Puerto Rico and Surat Thani, Thailand:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Mercedita Airport (PSE), Ponce, Puerto Rico and Surat Thani International Airport (URT), Surat Thani, Thailand would travel a Great Circle distance of 10,323 miles (or 16,613 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 Surat Thani International 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 Surat Thani International 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):

• 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 is a public use airport located three nautical miles east of the central business district of Ponce, Puerto Rico.
• In early 2010, members of the Ponce Chamber of Commerce strongly criticized the Puerto Rico Ports Authority and its director Alvaro Pilar Villagran after failure to execute on a legally binding agreement of November 2008, whereby the Ports Authority agreed to an investment of $8 million to build an airport drainage system needed as part of any additional expansion work.
• 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 airport has been enlarged on various occasions.
• 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 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.
• Mercedita Airport (PSE) currently has only 1 runway.
• 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.
• The closest airport to Mercedita Airport (PSE) is Antonio (Nery) Juarbe Pol Airport (ARE), which is located 31 miles (51 kilometers) NNW of PSE.

Facts about Surat Thani International Airport (URT):

• The furthest airport from Surat Thani International Airport (URT) is Capitán FAP Carlos Martínez de Pinillos International Airport (TRU), which is nearly antipodal to Surat Thani International Airport (meaning Surat Thani International Airport is almost on the exact opposite side of the Earth from Capitán FAP Carlos Martínez de Pinillos International Airport), and is located 12,297 miles (19,789 kilometers) away in Trujillo, Peru.
• The closest airport to Surat Thani International Airport (URT) is Ranong Airport (UNN), which is located 58 miles (94 kilometers) NW of URT.
• In addition to being known as "Surat Thani International Airport", another name for URT is "ท่าอากาศยานสุราษฎร์ธานี".
• Surat Thani International Airport (URT) currently has only 1 runway.
• The 701 Squadron, "Shark", flies six SAAB JAS-39 C/D Gripen fighter aircraft and still operates up to twelve of the remaining F-5B and F-5E Tiger fighters.
• On 11 December 1998, Thai Airways International Flight 261, an A310-200 bound for Surat Thani from Bangkok, was making its third landing attempt in heavy rain when it crashed into a rice paddy about 2 miles from the airport.
• Because of Surat Thani International Airport's relatively low elevation of 286 feet, planes can take off or land at Surat Thani 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.