Nonstop flight route between Philipsburg, Sint Maarten, Kingdom of the Netherlands and Tours, France:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Princess Juliana International Airport (SXM), Philipsburg, Sint Maarten, Kingdom of the Netherlands and Tours Val de Loire Airport (TUF), Tours, France would travel a Great Circle distance of 4,092 miles (or 6,585 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 Tours Val de Loire 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 Tours Val de Loire 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 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.
• 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.
• 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.
• 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 main apron measures 72,500 square metres with another 5,000 square metres on Eastern apron.
• In 1994, the Kingdom of the Netherlands and France signed the Franco-Dutch treaty on Saint Martin border controls, which allows for joint Franco-Dutch border controls on so-called "risk flights".

Facts about Tours Val de Loire Airport (TUF):

• The airport is open to both national and international carriers, private planes and is certified for both instrument flight and visual flight.
• The closest airport to Tours Val de Loire Airport (TUF) is Angers – Loire Airport (ANE), which is located 49 miles (79 kilometers) W of TUF.
• Tours Val de Loire Airport (TUF) currently has only 1 runway.
• The airport resides at an elevation of 357 feet above mean sea level.
• The furthest airport from Tours Val de Loire Airport (TUF) is Chatham Islands (CHT), which is nearly antipodal to Tours Val de Loire Airport (meaning Tours Val de Loire Airport is almost on the exact opposite side of the Earth from Chatham Islands), and is located 12,152 miles (19,557 kilometers) away in Waitangi, Chatham Islands, New Zealand.
• In addition to being known as "Tours Val de Loire Airport", another name for TUF is "Aéroport Tours Val de LoireBase Aérienne 604Tours Val de Loire".
• Because of Tours Val de Loire Airport's relatively low elevation of 357 feet, planes can take off or land at Tours Val de Loire 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.
• After World War II the airport was used by NATO and the US Air Force before becoming a flying school in the 1950s.