Nonstop flight route between Valaparaiso (near Fort Walton Beach), Florida, United States and Philipsburg, Sint Maarten, Kingdom of the Netherlands:
Departure Airport:
Arrival Airport:
Distance from VPS to SXM:
Share this route:
Jump to:
- About this route
- VPS Airport Information
- SXM Airport Information
- Facts about VPS
- Facts about SXM
- Map of Nearest Airports to VPS
- List of Nearest Airports to VPS
- Map of Furthest Airports from VPS
- List of Furthest Airports from VPS
- Map of Nearest Airports to SXM
- List of Nearest Airports to SXM
- Map of Furthest Airports from SXM
- List of Furthest Airports from SXM
About this route:
A direct, nonstop flight between Northwest Florida Regional Airport (VPS), Valaparaiso (near Fort Walton Beach), Florida, United States and Princess Juliana International Airport (SXM), Philipsburg, Sint Maarten, Kingdom of the Netherlands would travel a Great Circle distance of 1,702 miles (or 2,739 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 relatively short distance between Northwest Florida Regional Airport and Princess Juliana International Airport, the route shown on this map most likely still appears to be a straight line.
Departure Airport Information:
| IATA / ICAO Codes: | VPS / KVPS |
| Airport Names: |
|
| Location: | Valaparaiso (near Fort Walton Beach), Florida, United States |
| GPS Coordinates: | 30°28'59"N by 86°31'31"W |
| Area Served: | Fort Walton Beach, Destin |
| Airport Type: | Public / Military |
| Elevation: | 87 feet (27 meters) |
| # of Runways: | 2 |
| View all routes: | Routes from VPS |
| More Information: | VPS Maps & Info |
Arrival Airport Information:
| IATA / ICAO Codes: | SXM / TNCM |
| Airport Name: | Princess Juliana International Airport |
| Location: | Philipsburg, Sint Maarten, Kingdom of the Netherlands |
| GPS Coordinates: | 18°2'26"N by 63°6'33"W |
| Operator/Owner: | Princess Juliana Int'l Airport Holding Company N.V. |
| Airport Type: | Public |
| Elevation: | 14 feet (4 meters) |
| # of Runways: | 1 |
| View all routes: | Routes from SXM |
| More Information: | SXM Maps & Info |
Facts about Northwest Florida Regional Airport (VPS):
- Northwest Florida Regional Airport (VPS) has 2 runways.
- The closest airport to Northwest Florida Regional Airport (VPS) is Destin–Fort Walton Beach Airport (DSI), which is located only 7 miles (11 kilometers) SSE of VPS.
- Okaloosa County owns and operates the airport terminal, which is on 131 acres of Eglin AFB property that is lease from the U.S.
- Access to the terminal is off of State Road 85.
- In addition to being known as "Northwest Florida Regional Airport", another name for VPS is "Eglin Air Force Base".
- Because of Northwest Florida Regional Airport's relatively low elevation of 87 feet, planes can take off or land at Northwest Florida Regional 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 Northwest Florida Regional Airport (VPS) is Shark Bay Airport (MJK), which is located 11,174 miles (17,983 kilometers) away in Monkey Mia, Western Australia, Australia.
Facts about Princess Juliana International Airport (SXM):
- 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.
- Princess Juliana International Airport serves the Dutch part of the island of Saint Martin.
- 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.
- To accommodate the growing international and local traffic of private aircraft, PJIA has a Fixed Base Operator building, offering office space and private lounges with dedicated customs.
- 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.
- The airport was started as a military airstrip in 1942.
- 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.
- 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".
- Runway 10/28 was renumbered from 09/27 in late 2008.
