Nonstop flight route between Lasham, England, United Kingdom and Ponce, Puerto Rico:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Lasham Airfield (QLA), Lasham, England, United Kingdom and Mercedita Airport (PSE), Ponce, Puerto Rico would travel a Great Circle distance of 4,201 miles (or 6,761 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 Lasham Airfield and Mercedita 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 Lasham Airfield and Mercedita 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 Lasham Airfield (QLA):

• Lasham Gliding Society was established in 1958 to unify operations of the gliding clubs that had been operating since 1951.
• In 1950 the Army Gliding Club was re-established by Major Tony Deane-Drummond, then an instructor at the Royal Military Academy Sandhurst.
• Lasham Airfield (QLA) currently has only 1 runway.
• The furthest airport from Lasham Airfield (QLA) is Dunedin International Airport (DUD), which is located 11,896 miles (19,145 kilometers) away in Dunedin, Otago, New Zealand.
• In the 1960s the Space Department of the Royal Aircraft Establishment with its HQ at Farnborough, sited a number of satellite tracking and receiving dish aerials on the south side of Lasham airfield, one enclosed in a large white dome.
• The closest airport to Lasham Airfield (QLA) is RAF Odiham (ODH), which is located only 5 miles (8 kilometers) NE of QLA.
• Because of Lasham Airfield's relatively low elevation of 618 feet, planes can take off or land at Lasham Airfield 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 club uses two Skylaunch winches, normally delivering launch heights of 1500 ft and over 2000 ft in strong winds.

Facts about Mercedita Airport (PSE):

• Mercedita Airport (PSE) currently has only 1 runway.
• On August 12, 1981, an Air Florida plane with 125 Haitian refugees aboard landed at Mercedita en route to the Fort Allen facility in Juana Diaz, part of the 1981 Haitian refugees exodus.
• 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.
• Federal Express and DHL operate out of this airport for the distribution of surface freight.
• Mercedita Airport covers an area of 274 acres at an elevation of 29 feet above mean sea level.
• 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.
• After Ponce's mayor Rafael Cordero signed a contract to build a major seaport in the area, Mercedita's directors decided to expand the airport's runway to 8,000 ft to accommodate anticipated growth in airline traffic.
• In addition to being known as "Mercedita Airport", other names for PSE include "Aeropuerto Mercedita" and "18.00'30"N, 66.33'47"W".