Nonstop flight route between Altenburg, Thuringia, Germany and Falkland Islands:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Leipzig–Altenburg Airport (AOC), Altenburg, Thuringia, Germany and RAF Mount Pleasant (MPN), Falkland Islands would travel a Great Circle distance of 8,217 miles (or 13,225 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 Leipzig–Altenburg 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 Leipzig–Altenburg 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 Leipzig–Altenburg Airport (AOC):

• The airfield at Altenburg–Nobitz is one of the oldest in Germany.
• Because of Leipzig–Altenburg Airport's relatively low elevation of 640 feet, planes can take off or land at Leipzig–Altenburg 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 Soviet presence on the airfield ended in 1992 with the collapse of Communism and the radical redrawing of the political landscape which ensued.
• The closest airport to Leipzig–Altenburg Airport (AOC) is Leipzig/Halle Airport (LEJ), which is located 33 miles (53 kilometers) NNW of AOC.
• The furthest airport from Leipzig–Altenburg Airport (AOC) is Chatham Islands (CHT), which is located 11,789 miles (18,972 kilometers) away in Waitangi, Chatham Islands, New Zealand.
• Leipzig–Altenburg Airport (AOC) currently has only 1 runway.
• In addition to being known as "Leipzig–Altenburg Airport", another name for AOC is "Flughafen Altenburg–Nobitz".
• During World War II, the relative remoteness of Altenburg–Nobitz from the main theatres of war made the airfield an obvious location for Luftwaffe flying training in various forms.

Facts about RAF Mount Pleasant (MPN):

• Flights of Phantoms were rotated through the airfield until 1992 when they were replaced with Tornado F3s.
• 33 Engineer Regiment provides constant support and is part of the Joint Service Falkland Islands Detachment which consists of RAF and RLC EOD teams.
• A flight of Westland Sea King helicopters for support and search and rescue has been located at Mount Pleasant since November 2007.
• Mount Pleasant was opened by Prince Andrew on 12 May 1985, becoming fully operational the following year.
• 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.
• 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.
• On 2 April 2012, an Uruguayan air company, Air Class Líneas Aéreas, gained permission from the Uruguayan Ministry of Defence to start a commercial flight to the Falkland Islands.