Nonstop flight route between Philipsburg, Sint Maarten, Kingdom of the Netherlands and Yiwu, Zhejiang, China:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Princess Juliana International Airport (SXM), Philipsburg, Sint Maarten, Kingdom of the Netherlands and Yiwu Airport (YIW), Yiwu, Zhejiang, China would travel a Great Circle distance of 9,156 miles (or 14,735 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 Yiwu 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 Yiwu 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.
• Phase I was a short-term program in order to upgrade existing facilities and improve the level of service at various points.
• 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.
• 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.
• 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.
• PJIA is equipped with VOR/DME and NDB.
• 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.
• Princess Juliana International Airport (SXM) currently has only 1 runway.

Facts about Yiwu Airport (YIW):

• The furthest airport from Yiwu Airport (YIW) is Reconquista Airport (RCQ), which is nearly antipodal to Yiwu Airport (meaning Yiwu Airport is almost on the exact opposite side of the Earth from Reconquista Airport), and is located 12,417 miles (19,983 kilometers) away in Reconquista, Santa Fe, Argentina.
• In addition to being known as "Yiwu Airport", other names for YIW include "义乌机场" and "Yìwū Jīchǎng".
• On 6 January 2012, construction commenced for a new international terminal.
• Yiwu Airport handled 761,938 passengers last year.
• The closest airport to Yiwu Airport (YIW) is Hangzhou Xiaoshan International Airport (HGH), which is located 66 miles (106 kilometers) NNE of YIW.
• Yiwu Airport (YIW) currently has only 1 runway.
• Yiwu Airport has one runway that is 2,500 meters long and 45 meters wide, and an 18,000 square-meter terminal building.