Nonstop flight route between Punta Cana, Dominican Republic and Rapid City, South Dakota, United States:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Punta Cana International Airport (PUJ), Punta Cana, Dominican Republic and Ellsworth Air Force Base (RCA), Rapid City, South Dakota, United States would travel a Great Circle distance of 2,671 miles (or 4,299 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 Punta Cana International Airport and Ellsworth Air Force Base, 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 Punta Cana International Airport and Ellsworth Air Force Base. 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 Punta Cana International Airport (PUJ):

• The furthest airport from Punta Cana International Airport (PUJ) is Barrow Island Airport (BWB), which is nearly antipodal to Punta Cana International Airport (meaning Punta Cana International Airport is almost on the exact opposite side of the Earth from Barrow Island Airport), and is located 12,145 miles (19,546 kilometers) away in Barrow Island, Western Australia, Australia.
• Punta Cana International Airport (PUJ) has 2 runways.
• Punta Cana International Airport handled 5,163,426 passengers last year.
• Because of Punta Cana International Airport's relatively low elevation of 40 feet, planes can take off or land at Punta Cana 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.
• In the Caribbean, Punta Cana International Airport is the third busiest airport, surpassed only by Cancun International Airport, in Cancun, Mexico, and by Luis Muñoz Marin International Airport, in San Juan, Puerto Rico, which are the first and the second busiest airports in the region, respectively.
• Punta Cana International Airport is a privately owned commercial airport in Punta Cana, eastern Dominican Republic.
• The closest airport to Punta Cana International Airport (PUJ) is La Romana International Airport (LRM), which is located 37 miles (60 kilometers) WSW of PUJ.
• In addition to being known as "Punta Cana International Airport", another name for PUJ is "Aeropuerto Internacional Punta Cana".

Facts about Ellsworth Air Force Base (RCA):

• In addition to being known as "Ellsworth Air Force Base", another name for RCA is "Ellsworth AFB".
• To provide air defense of the base, the United States Army established the Ellsworth AFB Defense Area in 1957 and constructed Nike-Ajax Surface-to-air missile sites for air defense.
• The closest airport to Ellsworth Air Force Base (RCA) is Rapid City Regional Airport (RAP), which is located only 7 miles (11 kilometers) S of RCA.
• The host unit at Ellsworth is the 28th Bomb Wing assigned to the Air Combat Command's Twelfth Air Force.
• The furthest airport from Ellsworth Air Force Base (RCA) is Sir Gaëtan Duval Airport (RRG), which is located 10,579 miles (17,026 kilometers) away in Rodrigues Island, Mauritius.
• The mission of the 28th Bomb Wing is to deliver decisive combat power for global response.
• An Army Air-Defense Command Post was established at Ellsworth in 1960 for Nike missile command-and-control functions.
• The airfield was again temporarily shut down from September 1946 – March 1947 and underwent a major construction program to upgrade the temporary wartime facilities to that of a permanent base.