Nonstop flight route between Airlie Beach, Australia and Ponce, Puerto Rico:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Whitsunday Airport (WSY), Airlie Beach, Australia and Mercedita Airport (PSE), Ponce, Puerto Rico would travel a Great Circle distance of 10,130 miles (or 16,303 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 Whitsunday 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 Whitsunday 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 Whitsunday Airport (WSY):

• In addition to being known as "Whitsunday Airport", another name for WSY is "Shute Harbour Airport".
• Whitsunday Airport (WSY) currently has only 1 runway.
• Because of Whitsunday Airport's relatively low elevation of 40 feet, planes can take off or land at Whitsunday 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 closest airport to Whitsunday Airport (WSY) is Great Barrier Reef Airport (HTI), which is located only 14 miles (22 kilometers) ESE of WSY.
• The furthest airport from Whitsunday Airport (WSY) is Agostinho Neto Airport (NTO), which is located 11,982 miles (19,283 kilometers) away in Ponta do Sol, Santo Antão, Cape Verde.

Facts about Mercedita Airport (PSE):

• Built in 1939, Mercedita was originally a modest aerodrome used for the airborne irrigation of sugarcane fields belonging to Destilería Serrallés.
• The airport has been enlarged on various occasions.
• After Ponce's mayor Rafael Cordero signed a contract to build a major seaport in the area, Mercedita's directors decided to expand the airport's runway to 8,000 ft to accommodate anticipated growth in airline traffic.
• 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.
• Mercedita Airport (PSE) currently has only 1 runway.
• The Puerto Rico Ports Authority recently announced an investment of 7 million dollars to extend Mercedita's runway to 8,000 feet.
• The closest airport to Mercedita Airport (PSE) is Antonio (Nery) Juarbe Pol Airport (ARE), which is located 31 miles (51 kilometers) NNW of PSE.
• 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.
• Passenger movement at the airport in FY 2008 was 278,911, a 1,228% increase over fiscal year 2003 and the highest of all the regional airports for that 5-year period.
• In addition to being known as "Mercedita Airport", other names for PSE include "Aeropuerto Mercedita" and "18.00'30"N, 66.33'47"W".