Nonstop flight route between Karpathos, Greece and Falkland Islands:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Karpathos Island National Airport (AOK), Karpathos, Greece and RAF Mount Pleasant (MPN), Falkland Islands would travel a Great Circle distance of 7,921 miles (or 12,747 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 Karpathos Island National 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 Karpathos Island National 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 Karpathos Island National Airport (AOK):

• Because of Karpathos Island National Airport's relatively low elevation of 66 feet, planes can take off or land at Karpathos Island National 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.
• In addition to being known as "Karpathos Island National Airport", another name for AOK is "Κρατικός Αερολιμένας Καρπάθου".
• The furthest airport from Karpathos Island National Airport (AOK) is Rurutu Airport (RUR), which is located 11,535 miles (18,564 kilometers) away in Rurutu, French Polynesia.
• The closest airport to Karpathos Island National Airport (AOK) is Kasos Island Public Airport (KSJ), which is located only 13 miles (21 kilometers) W of AOK.
• Karpathos Island National Airport (AOK) currently has only 1 runway.

Facts about RAF Mount Pleasant (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.
• Flights of Phantoms were rotated through the airfield until 1992 when they were replaced with Tornado F3s.
• 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.
• 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.
• 33 Engineer Regiment provides constant support and is part of the Joint Service Falkland Islands Detachment which consists of RAF and RLC EOD teams.
• The closest airport to RAF Mount Pleasant (MPN) is Port Stanley Airport (PSY), which is located 30 miles (49 kilometers) ENE of MPN.