Nonstop flight route between Philipsburg, Sint Maarten, Kingdom of the Netherlands and Rio de Janeiro, Brazil:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Princess Juliana International Airport (SXM), Philipsburg, Sint Maarten, Kingdom of the Netherlands and Rio de Janeiro/Galeão–Antonio Carlos Jobim International Airport (GIG), Rio de Janeiro, Brazil would travel a Great Circle distance of 3,125 miles (or 5,029 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 Rio de Janeiro/Galeão–Antonio Carlos Jobim 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 Rio de Janeiro/Galeão–Antonio Carlos Jobim 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):

• Princess Juliana International Airport (SXM) currently has only 1 runway.
• Although the airport is as close to the beach as it is, there have only been 2 major accidents.
• 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.
• 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.
• Phase I was a short-term program in order to upgrade existing facilities and improve the level of service at various points.
• 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.
• 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.

Facts about Rio de Janeiro/Galeão–Antonio Carlos Jobim International Airport (GIG):

• Operated by Infraero, it is the largest airport site in Brazil.
• As proof of the airport's prestige, the Concorde made its scheduled maiden-flight with Air France on January 21, 1976, flying from Paris – Charles de Gaulle to Galeão via Dakar.
• Rio de Janeiro/Galeão–Antonio Carlos Jobim International Airport (GIG) has 2 runways.
• At the end of the war, Santos Dumont Airport was unable to handle the increased tonnage of aircraft flying on international routes and number of passengers.
• The furthest airport from Rio de Janeiro/Galeão–Antonio Carlos Jobim International Airport (GIG) is Central Field (Iwo Jima)Motoyama No. 2Airfield No. 2 (IWO), which is nearly antipodal to Rio de Janeiro/Galeão–Antonio Carlos Jobim International Airport (meaning Rio de Janeiro/Galeão–Antonio Carlos Jobim International Airport is almost on the exact opposite side of the Earth from Central Field (Iwo Jima)Motoyama No. 2Airfield No. 2), and is located 12,117 miles (19,500 kilometers) away in Iwo Jima, Bonin Islands, Japan.
• The closest airport to Rio de Janeiro/Galeão–Antonio Carlos Jobim International Airport (GIG) is Santos Dumont Airport (SDU), which is located only 9 miles (14 kilometers) SE of GIG.
• The airport is located 20 km north of downtown Rio de Janeiro.
• Ordinary city busses 924 and 925 operate to the neighborhood of Ilha do Governador and 915 to Bonsucesso.
• Rio de Janeiro/Galeão–Antonio Carlos Jobim International Airport handled 17,115,368 passengers last year.
• Because of Rio de Janeiro/Galeão–Antonio Carlos Jobim International Airport's relatively low elevation of 28 feet, planes can take off or land at Rio de Janeiro/Galeão–Antonio Carlos Jobim 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.
• On January 20, 1977, when the airport was receiving all of Brazil's major international flights, this new terminal was opened and all scheduled passenger flights were transferred to the new building.
• In addition to being known as "Rio de Janeiro/Galeão–Antonio Carlos Jobim International Airport", another name for GIG is "Aeroporto Internacional do Rio de Janeiro/Galeão–Antonio Carlos Jobim".