Nonstop flight route between Philipsburg, Sint Maarten, Kingdom of the Netherlands and Fria, Guinea:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Princess Juliana International Airport (SXM), Philipsburg, Sint Maarten, Kingdom of the Netherlands and Fria Airport (FIG), Fria, Guinea would travel a Great Circle distance of 3,351 miles (or 5,393 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 Fria 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 Fria 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 airport was started as a military airstrip in 1942.
• 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.
• 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.
• Runway 10/28 was renumbered from 09/27 in late 2008.
• 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.
• 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.
• 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.
• The main apron measures 72,500 square metres with another 5,000 square metres on Eastern apron.
• 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.

Facts about Fria Airport (FIG):

• Because of Fria Airport's relatively low elevation of 499 feet, planes can take off or land at Fria 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 closest airport to Fria Airport (FIG) is Conakry International Airport (CKY), which is located 54 miles (86 kilometers) S of FIG.
• The furthest airport from Fria Airport (FIG) is Mota Lava Airport (MTV), which is nearly antipodal to Fria Airport (meaning Fria Airport is almost on the exact opposite side of the Earth from Mota Lava Airport), and is located 12,192 miles (19,621 kilometers) away in Mota Lava, Vanuatu.
• Fria Airport (FIG) currently has only 1 runway.