Nonstop flight route between Philipsburg, Sint Maarten, Kingdom of the Netherlands and Confins (near Belo Horizonte), Minas Gerais, Brazil:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Princess Juliana International Airport (SXM), Philipsburg, Sint Maarten, Kingdom of the Netherlands and Tancredo Neves/Confins International Airport (CNF), Confins (near Belo Horizonte), Minas Gerais, Brazil would travel a Great Circle distance of 2,908 miles (or 4,680 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 Tancredo Neves/Confins 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 Tancredo Neves/Confins 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.
• 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.
• 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.
• Princess Juliana International Airport (SXM) currently has only 1 runway.
• Runway 10/28 was renumbered from 09/27 in late 2008.
• Phase II included the construction of a radar facility and a new air traffic control tower, the construction of a new and more modern, 27,000 square metres, terminal, capable of handling 2.5 million passengers per year, and the construction of a Runway End Safety Area of 150 metres, including a 60 metres overrun, on both ends of its runway, to comply with ICAO rules.
• 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.
• 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.
• Phase I was a short-term program in order to upgrade existing facilities and improve the level of service at various points.

Facts about Tancredo Neves/Confins International Airport (CNF):

• The furthest airport from Tancredo Neves/Confins International Airport (CNF) is Central Field (Iwo Jima)Motoyama No. 2Airfield No. 2 (IWO), which is located 11,945 miles (19,224 kilometers) away in Iwo Jima, Bonin Islands, Japan.
• The closest airport to Tancredo Neves/Confins International Airport (CNF) is Belo Horizonte/Pampulha–Carlos Drummond de Andrade Airport (PLU), which is located only 16 miles (25 kilometers) S of CNF.
• Tancredo Neves/Confins International Airport (CNF) currently has only 1 runway.
• In addition to being known as "Tancredo Neves/Confins International Airport", another name for CNF is "Aeroporto Internacional Tancredo Neves/Confins".
• After its inauguration, just a small fraction of the capacity of Confins was used.
• Tancredo Neves/Confins International Airport handled 10,301,288 passengers last year.
• Tancredo Neves/Confins International Airport, formerly called Confins International Airport, is the main airport serving Belo Horizonte and Metropolitan Area, Brazil, located in the adjoining municipality of Confins.
• On 31 August 2009, Infraero unveiled a BRL342.3 million investiment plan to up-grade Tancredo Neves International Airport focusing on the preparations for the 2014 FIFA World Cup which will be held in Brazil, Belo Horizonte being one of the venue cities.
• On 26 April 2011 it was confirmed that in order to speed-up much needed renovation and up-grade works, private companies will be granted a concession to explore some Infraero airports among them, on a second phase, Confins.