Nonstop flight route between Tucson, Arizona, United States and Ponce, Puerto Rico:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Tucson International Airport (TUS), Tucson, Arizona, United States and Mercedita Airport (PSE), Ponce, Puerto Rico would travel a Great Circle distance of 2,920 miles (or 4,699 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 Tucson International Airport and Mercedita 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 Tucson International Airport and Mercedita 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 Tucson International Airport (TUS):

• During its history at TUS, the 162nd has operated the F-86 Sabre, F-100 Super Sabre, F-102 Delta Dagger, A-7 Corsair II and F-16 Fighting Falcon aircraft.
• In 1919 Tucson opened the first municipally owned airport in the United States.
• Tucson International Airport handled 1,779,679 passengers last year.
• A remodeling in 1985 doubled the size of the terminal from 150,000 to 300,000 sq ft and rebuilt the concourse into separate, two-level structures with jet bridges.
• There are two air freight facilities located east of the Main Terminal, off Airport Drive.
• Tucson International Airport (TUS) has 3 runways.
• The closest airport to Tucson International Airport (TUS) is Davis–Monthan Air Force Base (DMA), which is located only 5 miles (8 kilometers) NE of TUS.
• The furthest airport from Tucson International Airport (TUS) is Sir Gaëtan Duval Airport (RRG), which is located 11,513 miles (18,528 kilometers) away in Rodrigues Island, Mauritius.

Facts about Mercedita Airport (PSE):

• The closest airport to Mercedita Airport (PSE) is Antonio (Nery) Juarbe Pol Airport (ARE), which is located 31 miles (51 kilometers) NNW of PSE.
• In February 2009, Ponce mayor María Meléndez sought transfer of the airport from the Puerto Rico central government to the Ponce Municipal government amidst discontent with the bureaucracy at the central government that could be avoided if the airport was locally managed.
• In addition to being known as "Mercedita Airport", other names for PSE include "Aeropuerto Mercedita" and "18.00'30"N, 66.33'47"W".
• The first scheduled commercial flights at Mercedita occurred in 1965 when domestic flights started.
• Mercedita Airport (PSE) currently has only 1 runway.
• Realtime departures and arrivals information is available online.
• Because of Mercedita Airport's relatively low elevation of 29 feet, planes can take off or land at Mercedita 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 furthest airport from Mercedita Airport (PSE) is Barrow Island Airport (BWB), which is nearly antipodal to Mercedita Airport (meaning Mercedita Airport is almost on the exact opposite side of the Earth from Barrow Island Airport), and is located 12,201 miles (19,636 kilometers) away in Barrow Island, Western Australia, Australia.
• In early 2010, members of the Ponce Chamber of Commerce strongly criticized the Puerto Rico Ports Authority and its director Alvaro Pilar Villagran after failure to execute on a legally binding agreement of November 2008, whereby the Ports Authority agreed to an investment of $8 million to build an airport drainage system needed as part of any additional expansion work.