Nonstop flight route between Philipsburg, Sint Maarten, Kingdom of the Netherlands and Bucharest, Romania:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Princess Juliana International Airport (SXM), Philipsburg, Sint Maarten, Kingdom of the Netherlands and Bucharest Băneasa Aurel Vlaicu International Airport (BBU), Bucharest, Romania would travel a Great Circle distance of 5,314 miles (or 8,553 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 Princess Juliana International Airport and Bucharest Băneasa Aurel Vlaicu 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 Princess Juliana International Airport and Bucharest Băneasa Aurel Vlaicu 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 Princess Juliana International Airport (SXM):

• The furthest airport from Princess Juliana International Airport (SXM) is Karratha Airport (KTA), which is nearly antipodal to Princess Juliana International Airport (meaning Princess Juliana International Airport is almost on the exact opposite side of the Earth from Karratha Airport), and is located 12,252 miles (19,718 kilometers) away in Karratha / Dampier, Western Australia, Australia.
• To accommodate the growing international and local traffic of private aircraft, PJIA has a Fixed Base Operator building, offering office space and private lounges with dedicated customs.
• Princess Juliana International Airport (SXM) currently has only 1 runway.
• Because of Princess Juliana International Airport's relatively low elevation of 14 feet, planes can take off or land at Princess Juliana 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.
• However, the oil price increases since 2003 began impacting discretionary air travel worldwide by early 2008, and the prospect of further price increases threatens to reverse the recent expansion of tourist travel by jet which began with the 1980s oil glut.
• Phase I was a short-term program in order to upgrade existing facilities and improve the level of service at various points.
• The closest airport to Princess Juliana International Airport (SXM) is L'Espérance Airport Grand Case Airport (CCE), which is located only 6 miles (9 kilometers) NE of SXM.
• PJIA is equipped with VOR/DME and NDB.
• Because the approach to Runway 10 is over water, pilots can become disoriented regarding their perceived altitude when operating under visual flight rules.

Facts about Bucharest Băneasa Aurel Vlaicu International Airport (BBU):

• During the communist period, Băneasa Airport was TAROM's domestic hub, while Otopeni Airport was used as an international hub.
• Because of Bucharest Băneasa Aurel Vlaicu International Airport's relatively low elevation of 299 feet, planes can take off or land at Bucharest Băneasa Aurel Vlaicu 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.
• The building is a late 1940s design, and was not built to cope with more than 600,000 passengers per year and departures every 25 minutes.
• Bucharest Băneasa Aurel Vlaicu International Airport (BBU) currently has only 1 runway.
• In addition to being known as "Bucharest Băneasa Aurel Vlaicu International Airport", another name for BBU is "Aeroportul Internaţional Bucureşti Băneasa Aurel Vlaicu".
• In 1920, the airport headquartered the first aviation company in Romania, and one of the earliest in the world, the CFRNA, the precursor of the Romanian national airline, TAROM.
• The furthest airport from Bucharest Băneasa Aurel Vlaicu International Airport (BBU) is Chatham Islands (CHT), which is located 11,321 miles (18,219 kilometers) away in Waitangi, Chatham Islands, New Zealand.
• The airport is situated 8 km north of Bucharest city centre and is accessible by RATB buses 131, 335 and Airport Express 783, RATB tramway 5 and taxi.
• The closest airport to Bucharest Băneasa Aurel Vlaicu International Airport (BBU) is Bucharest Henri Coandǎ International Airport (OTP), which is located only 5 miles (8 kilometers) N of BBU.
• Bucharest Băneasa Aurel Vlaicu International Airport handled 6,036 passengers last year.