Nonstop flight route between Philipsburg, Sint Maarten, Kingdom of the Netherlands and La Unión, Honduras[disambiguation needed]:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Princess Juliana International Airport (SXM), Philipsburg, Sint Maarten, Kingdom of the Netherlands and La Unión Airport (LUI), La Unión, Honduras[disambiguation needed] would travel a Great Circle distance of 3,663 miles (or 5,896 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 La Unión 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 La Unión 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.
• 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.
• 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.
• 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 new four-story terminal building offers 27,000 square metres of floor space and is fully air-conditioned.
• 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 the approach to Runway 10 is over water, pilots can become disoriented regarding their perceived altitude when operating under visual flight rules.
• The airport was started as a military airstrip in 1942.

Facts about La Unión Airport (LUI):

• In addition to being known as "La Unión Airport", other names for LUI include "La Unión Airport (Marchigüe)", "Aeropuerto La Unión" and "SCLU".
• The furthest airport from La Unión Airport (LUI) is Xi'an Xianyang International Airport (XIY), which is nearly antipodal to La Unión Airport (meaning La Unión Airport is almost on the exact opposite side of the Earth from Xi'an Xianyang International Airport), and is located 12,412 miles (19,976 kilometers) away in Xianyang, Shaanxi, China.
• Because of La Unión Airport's relatively low elevation of 528 feet, planes can take off or land at La Unión 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 La Unión Airport (LUI) is Comodoro Arturo Merino Benítez International Airport (SCL), which is located 83 miles (134 kilometers) NE of LUI.
• La Unión Airport (LUI) currently has only 1 runway.