Nonstop flight route between Christmas Island, Australia and Ponce, Puerto Rico:
Departure Airport:
Arrival Airport:
Distance from XCH to PSE:
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- About this route
- XCH Airport Information
- PSE Airport Information
- Facts about XCH
- Facts about PSE
- Map of Nearest Airports to XCH
- List of Nearest Airports to XCH
- Map of Furthest Airports from XCH
- List of Furthest Airports from XCH
- Map of Nearest Airports to PSE
- List of Nearest Airports to PSE
- Map of Furthest Airports from PSE
- List of Furthest Airports from PSE
About this route:
A direct, nonstop flight between Christmas Island Airport (XCH), Christmas Island, Australia and Mercedita Airport (PSE), Ponce, Puerto Rico would travel a Great Circle distance of 11,701 miles (or 18,831 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 Christmas Island 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 Christmas Island Airport and Mercedita Airport. You'll see that it will travel the same route of the red line on this map!
Departure Airport Information:
| IATA / ICAO Codes: | XCH / YPXM |
| Airport Name: | Christmas Island Airport |
| Location: | Christmas Island, Australia |
| GPS Coordinates: | 10°27'2"S by 105°41'25"E |
| Operator/Owner: | Toll Remote Logistics |
| Airport Type: | Public |
| Elevation: | 916 feet (279 meters) |
| # of Runways: | 1 |
| View all routes: | Routes from XCH |
| More Information: | XCH Maps & Info |
Arrival Airport Information:
| IATA / ICAO Codes: | PSE / TJPS |
| Airport Names: |
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| Location: | Ponce, Puerto Rico |
| GPS Coordinates: | 18°0'29"N by 66°33'47"W |
| Area Served: | Ponce, Puerto Rico |
| Operator/Owner: | Puerto Rico Ports Authority |
| Airport Type: | Public |
| Elevation: | 29 feet (9 meters) |
| # of Runways: | 1 |
| View all routes: | Routes from PSE |
| More Information: | PSE Maps & Info |
Facts about Christmas Island Airport (XCH):
- Christmas Island Airport handled 27,286 passengers last year.
- The closest airport to Christmas Island Airport (XCH) is Cibeureum Airfield (TSY), which is located 276 miles (445 kilometers) NE of XCH.
- The furthest airport from Christmas Island Airport (XCH) is Ernesto Cortissoz International Airport (BAQ), which is nearly antipodal to Christmas Island Airport (meaning Christmas Island Airport is almost on the exact opposite side of the Earth from Ernesto Cortissoz International Airport), and is located 12,393 miles (19,944 kilometers) away in Barranquilla, Colombia.
- Because of Christmas Island Airport's relatively low elevation of 916 feet, planes can take off or land at Christmas Island 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.
- Christmas Island Airport (XCH) currently has only 1 runway.
- A brief revival of the "old days" happened in 2001 during the "Tampa" crisis when the heightened Royal Australian Air Force traffic was complemented by a large number of Department of Immigration and Citizenship and media charters.
Facts about Mercedita Airport (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.
- Mercedita Airport (PSE) currently has only 1 runway.
- As per Federal Aviation Administration records, the airport had 110,159 passenger boardings in calendar year 2008, 90,267 enplanements in 2009, and 97,660 in 2010.
- The airport is also home of the southern aerial division of the Puerto Rico Police Department.
- On August 12, 1981, an Air Florida plane with 125 Haitian refugees aboard landed at Mercedita en route to the Fort Allen facility in Juana Diaz, part of the 1981 Haitian refugees exodus.
- 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.
- 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".
