Nonstop flight route between Vieques, Puerto Rico, United States and Palmdale, California, United States:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Antonio Rivera Rodríguez Airport (VQS), Vieques, Puerto Rico, United States and Palmdale Regional Airport (PMD), Palmdale, California, United States would travel a Great Circle distance of 3,407 miles (or 5,483 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 Antonio Rivera Rodríguez Airport and Palmdale Regional 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 Antonio Rivera Rodríguez Airport and Palmdale Regional 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 Antonio Rivera Rodríguez Airport (VQS):

• Because of Antonio Rivera Rodríguez Airport's relatively low elevation of 49 feet, planes can take off or land at Antonio Rivera Rodríguez 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.
• Antonio Rivera Rodríguez Airport (VQS) currently has only 1 runway.
• The closest airport to Antonio Rivera Rodríguez Airport (VQS) is Diego Jiménez Torres Airport (FAJ), which is located only 16 miles (26 kilometers) NW of VQS.
• Antonio Rivera Rodríguez Airport is a small public use airport on the island of Vieques in Puerto Rico.
• The furthest airport from Antonio Rivera Rodríguez Airport (VQS) is Barrow Island Airport (BWB), which is nearly antipodal to Antonio Rivera Rodríguez Airport (meaning Antonio Rivera Rodríguez Airport is almost on the exact opposite side of the Earth from Barrow Island Airport), and is located 12,239 miles (19,697 kilometers) away in Barrow Island, Western Australia, Australia.
• Antonio Rivera Rodríguez Airport handled 165,043 passengers last year.
• As per Federal Aviation Administration records, the airport had 21,517 passenger boardings in calendar year 2008, 20,759 enplanements in 2009, and 46,267 in 2010.
• Early in 2005, plans were announced to expand the airport's lone runway, so that the airport can accept flights by smaller jets.
• When anti-military demonstrators started flocking into Vieques, both by air and sea, in 1999, Vieques Airport saw a considerable increase to its normal yearly average of passengers.

Facts about Palmdale Regional Airport (PMD):

• Both the Air Force and its aircraft contractors needed a location away from major population centers - due to sonic booms, other noises and security concerns - but close enough to the major centers of aircraft design and production, while having excellent flying weather the year around.
• On September 3, 2008 the San Francisco service was increased from two 50-seat regional jets to four 30-seat turboprop flights per day.
• The origins of Palmdale Regional Airport go to the early 1930s, when a small airstrip was built in the desert.
• The Blackbird Airpark Museum is an extension of the AFFTC Museum at Edwards AFB, while the Heritage Airpark is operated by the City of Palmdale.
• The furthest airport from Palmdale Regional Airport (PMD) is Pierrefonds Airport (ZSE), which is located 11,436 miles (18,405 kilometers) away in Saint-Pierre, Réunion.
• The closest airport to Palmdale Regional Airport (PMD) is General Wm. J. Fox Airfield (WJF), which is located only 11 miles (17 kilometers) NW of PMD.
• Palmdale Regional Airport (PMD) has 3 runways.
• LAWA has used Plant 42's facilities in past years when at one point in the early 1990s several airlines used the Palmdale Regional Airport terminal sited on Plant 42.