Nonstop flight route between Alexandra, New Zealand and Falkland Islands:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Alexandra Aerodrome (ALR), Alexandra, New Zealand and RAF Mount Pleasant (MPN), Falkland Islands would travel a Great Circle distance of 5,154 miles (or 8,295 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 Alexandra Aerodrome 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 Alexandra Aerodrome 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 Alexandra Aerodrome (ALR):

• The furthest airport from Alexandra Aerodrome (ALR) is A Coruña Airport (LCG), which is nearly antipodal to Alexandra Aerodrome (meaning Alexandra Aerodrome is almost on the exact opposite side of the Earth from A Coruña Airport), and is located 12,264 miles (19,737 kilometers) away in A Coruña, Spain.
• Alexandra Aerodrome (ALR) has 3 runways.
• The closest airport to Alexandra Aerodrome (ALR) is Queenstown Airport (ZQN), which is located 34 miles (54 kilometers) WNW of ALR.
• Because of Alexandra Aerodrome's relatively low elevation of 752 feet, planes can take off or land at Alexandra Aerodrome 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.

Facts about RAF Mount Pleasant (MPN):

• On 10 November 2011, it was announced that Prince William would be serving as a Sea King pilot on the station for six weeks during February and March 2012.
• 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.
• The closest airport to RAF Mount Pleasant (MPN) is Port Stanley Airport (PSY), which is located 30 miles (49 kilometers) ENE of MPN.
• 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.
• 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.