Nonstop flight route between Philipsburg, Sint Maarten, Kingdom of the Netherlands and Gilgit, Pakistan:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Princess Juliana International Airport (SXM), Philipsburg, Sint Maarten, Kingdom of the Netherlands and Gilgit Airport (GIL), Gilgit, Pakistan would travel a Great Circle distance of 7,785 miles (or 12,529 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 Gilgit 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 Gilgit 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):

• PJIA is equipped with VOR/DME and NDB.
• 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.
• 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.
• Because the approach to Runway 10 is over water, pilots can become disoriented regarding their perceived altitude when operating under visual flight 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.
• The airport was started as a military airstrip in 1942.
• Although the airport is as close to the beach as it is, there have only been 2 major accidents.
• Despite the reputed difficulties in approach, there have been no records of major incidents at the airport, although ALM Flight 980 crashed 30 miles from St.

Facts about Gilgit Airport (GIL):

• Because of Gilgit Airport's high elevation of 4,796 feet, planes must typically fly at a faster airspeed in order to takeoff or land at GIL. Combined with a high temperature, this could make GIL a "Hot & High" airport, where the air density is lower than it would otherwise be at sea level.
• The furthest airport from Gilgit Airport (GIL) is Mataveri International Airport (IPC), which is located 11,793 miles (18,979 kilometers) away in Easter Island, Chile.
• The closest airport to Gilgit Airport (GIL) is Chilas Airport (CHB), which is located 37 miles (59 kilometers) SSW of GIL.
• Gilgit Airport (GIL) currently has only 1 runway.