Nonstop flight route between Philipsburg, Sint Maarten, Kingdom of the Netherlands and Nanchong, Sichuan, China:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Princess Juliana International Airport (SXM), Philipsburg, Sint Maarten, Kingdom of the Netherlands and Nanchong Gaoping Airport (NAO), Nanchong, Sichuan, China would travel a Great Circle distance of 8,988 miles (or 14,465 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 Nanchong Gaoping 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 Nanchong Gaoping 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 serves the Dutch part of the island of Saint Martin.
• 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.
• 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.
• 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.
• 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 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.
• Princess Juliana International Airport (SXM) currently has only 1 runway.
• 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.

Facts about Nanchong Gaoping Airport (NAO):

• In addition to being known as "Nanchong Gaoping Airport", other names for NAO include "南充高坪机场" and "Nanchong Gaoping Jīchǎng".
• The furthest airport from Nanchong Gaoping Airport (NAO) is La Florida Airport (LSC), which is nearly antipodal to Nanchong Gaoping Airport (meaning Nanchong Gaoping Airport is almost on the exact opposite side of the Earth from La Florida Airport), and is located 12,268 miles (19,744 kilometers) away in La Serena, Chile.
• The closest airport to Nanchong Gaoping Airport (NAO) is Dazhou Heshi Airport (DAX), which is located 79 miles (127 kilometers) ENE of NAO.
• Nanchong Gaoping Airport (NAO) currently has only 1 runway.