Nonstop flight route between Ovda, Israel and Philipsburg, Sint Maarten, Kingdom of the Netherlands:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Ovda Airport (VDA), Ovda, Israel and Princess Juliana International Airport (SXM), Philipsburg, Sint Maarten, Kingdom of the Netherlands would travel a Great Circle distance of 6,063 miles (or 9,757 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 Ovda Airport and Princess Juliana International 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 Ovda Airport and Princess Juliana International 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 Ovda Airport (VDA):

• Ovda Airport handled 136,791 passengers last year.
• The furthest airport from Ovda Airport (VDA) is Rurutu Airport (RUR), which is located 11,788 miles (18,970 kilometers) away in Rurutu, French Polynesia.
• Ovda Airport (VDA) has 2 runways.
• The closest airport to Ovda Airport (VDA) is Yotvata Airfield (YOT), which is located only 8 miles (13 kilometers) ESE of VDA.
• Today, the airport sees regular scheduled domestic services operated by Israir, Arkia Israel Airlines, and El Al Israel Airlines as well as regular charter services from across Europe.
• Ovda Airport is a military and civilian airport in Israel, located in the south of the country, about 60 km north of the city of Eilat.
• In addition to being known as "Ovda Airport", another name for VDA is "נְמַל הַתְּעוּפָה עוֹבְדָה".
• The airport is expected to cease civilian flights once Eilat's new international airport in Timna opens.

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 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.
• Princess Juliana International Airport (SXM) currently has only 1 runway.
• Phase II included the construction of a radar facility and a new air traffic control tower, the construction of a new and more modern, 27,000 square metres, terminal, capable of handling 2.5 million passengers per year, and the construction of a Runway End Safety Area of 150 metres, including a 60 metres overrun, on both ends of its runway, to comply with ICAO rules.
• The new four-story terminal building offers 27,000 square metres of floor space and is fully air-conditioned.
• 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 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.
• 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.