Nonstop flight route between Philipsburg, Sint Maarten, Kingdom of the Netherlands and Ciudad Real, Spain:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Princess Juliana International Airport (SXM), Philipsburg, Sint Maarten, Kingdom of the Netherlands and Ciudad Real Central Airport (CQM), Ciudad Real, Spain would travel a Great Circle distance of 3,798 miles (or 6,112 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 Ciudad Real Central 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 Ciudad Real Central 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):

• 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.
• Since official opening of the new control tower, PJIA air traffic controllers have two radar systems at their disposal with ranges of 50 nautical miles and 250 nautical miles.
• Because of increased passenger traffic and the expected growth of passenger traffic in the near future, Princess Juliana International Airport is being heavily modernized following a three-phased masterplan, commissioned in 1997.
• If traffic develops as forecast, Phase III of the masterplan will be executed, consisting of an extension of the new terminal building and the construction of a full parallel taxiway system.
• Princess Juliana International Airport serves the Dutch part of the island of Saint Martin.
• Princess Juliana International Airport (SXM) currently has only 1 runway.
• 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.
• Although the airport is as close to the beach as it is, there have only been 2 major accidents.
• 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.
• Arriving aircraft approach the island on the last section of the final approach for Runway 10, following a 3° glide slope flying low over the famous Maho Beach.

Facts about Ciudad Real Central Airport (CQM):

• The Spanish low-cost carrier Vueling served the airport with flights to Barcelona El Prat Airport and Palma de Mallorca Airport, but flights to the airport ceased on 29 October 2011.
• An episode of Top Gear aired on 14 July 2013 featuring Jeremy Clarkson, James May and Richard Hammond visiting the empty terminal building during a "budget convertible" challenge in Spain and racing a McLaren MP4-12C Spider, Audi R8 V10 Spider and Ferrari 458 Spider on the closed runway while being amazed at finding the entire airport deserted.
• In addition to being known as "Ciudad Real Central Airport", other names for CQM include "Aeropuerto Central Ciudad Real" and "CQM [1]".
• Ciudad Real Central Airport (CQM) currently has only 1 runway.
• The furthest airport from Ciudad Real Central Airport (CQM) is Taupo AirportTe Papa Waka Rererangi o Taupō (TUO), which is nearly antipodal to Ciudad Real Central Airport (meaning Ciudad Real Central Airport is almost on the exact opposite side of the Earth from Taupo AirportTe Papa Waka Rererangi o Taupō), and is located 12,428 miles (20,001 kilometers) away in Taupo, New Zealand.
• The closest airport to Ciudad Real Central Airport (CQM) is Córdoba Airport (ODB), which is located 84 miles (136 kilometers) SW of CQM.
• International flights to the airport began in June 2010, but by October that year all international routes were cancelled, and the airport filed for bankruptcy with more than 300 million euro of debt.