Nonstop flight route between Lubbock, Texas, United States and Falkland Islands:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Lubbock Preston Smith International Airport (LBB), Lubbock, Texas, United States and RAF Mount Pleasant (MPN), Falkland Islands would travel a Great Circle distance of 6,463 miles (or 10,402 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 Lubbock Preston Smith International Airport and RAF Mount Pleasant, 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 Lubbock Preston Smith International Airport and RAF Mount Pleasant. 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 Lubbock Preston Smith International Airport (LBB):

• By late 1944 Flying Training Command ended all glider instruction, and control of South Plains AAF was transferred to Air Service Command at Tinker Field, Oklahoma.
• In addition to being known as "Lubbock Preston Smith International Airport", another name for LBB is "(former South Plains Army Airfield)".
• The furthest airport from Lubbock Preston Smith International Airport (LBB) is Sir Gaëtan Duval Airport (RRG), which is located 11,113 miles (17,885 kilometers) away in Rodrigues Island, Mauritius.
• Construction involved runways and airplane hangars, with three concrete runways, several taxiways and a large apron and a control tower.
• The airport opened in November 1937 as South Plains Airport.
• The closest airport to Lubbock Preston Smith International Airport (LBB) is Hale County Airport (PVW), which is located 35 miles (57 kilometers) N of LBB.
• Lubbock Preston Smith International Airport (LBB) has 3 runways.

Facts about RAF Mount Pleasant (MPN):

• Additionally, every Saturday LAN Airlines operates a scheduled commercial flight to Presidente Carlos Ibáñez del Campo International Airport of the Punta Arenas city in southern Chile, stopping at Río Gallegos, Argentina once a month.
• On 2 March 2012, the Argentinian President Cristina Fernández de Kirchner called for Aerolineas Argentinas flights to Buenos Aires to replace LAN Airlines flights to Chile.
• The furthest airport from RAF Mount Pleasant (MPN) is Mohe Gulian Airport (OHE), which is nearly antipodal to RAF Mount Pleasant (meaning RAF Mount Pleasant is almost on the exact opposite side of the Earth from Mohe Gulian Airport), and is located 12,353 miles (19,879 kilometers) away in Mohe, Heilongjiang, China.
• There is also a Joint Communications Unit providing the electronic warfare and command and control systems for the Royal Navy, British Army and Royal Air Force.
• Mount Pleasant was opened by Prince Andrew on 12 May 1985, becoming fully operational the following year.
• The British government felt that Stanley airfield was not the best option for a large, permanent station and decided to construct a new RAF station and make it the centrepiece of considerably strengthened air defences for the Falkland Islands, South Georgia and the South Sandwich Islands.
• The closest airport to RAF Mount Pleasant (MPN) is Port Stanley Airport (PSY), which is located 30 miles (49 kilometers) ENE of MPN.
• After the surrender of the Argentine ground forces on the islands, the British still faced the problem of potential Argentine air attacks from Argentina, so an aircraft carrier had to remain on station to guard the islands with its squadron of Sea Harriers until the local airfield was prepared for jet aircraft.