Nonstop flight route between Kota Kinabalu, Malaysia and Falkland Islands:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Kota Kinabalu International Airport (BKI), Kota Kinabalu, Malaysia and RAF Mount Pleasant (MPN), Falkland Islands would travel a Great Circle distance of 9,251 miles (or 14,889 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 Kota Kinabalu 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 Kota Kinabalu 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 Kota Kinabalu International Airport (BKI):

• The new Terminal 1 building has 64 check-in counters for international and domestic flights, as well as 17 aircraft parking bays capable of accommodating both wide and narrow-body aircraft.
• The current largest scheduled aircraft to operate in and out of the terminal is the Boeing 777-200ER from Royal Brunei and Malaysia Airlines.
• In mid-2005, the Malaysian government approved a project for major renovation and extension of KKIA worth RM1.4 billion.
• Kota Kinabalu International Airport (BKI) currently has only 1 runway.
• Terminal 1's new wing was completed and opened for commercial use on 19 August 2008 while the other wing was closed for renovation and is expected to complete by May 2010.
• Because of Kota Kinabalu International Airport's relatively low elevation of 10 feet, planes can take off or land at Kota Kinabalu International 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.
• Kota Kinabalu International Airport handled 6,929,692 passengers last year.
• The furthest airport from Kota Kinabalu International Airport (BKI) is Lábrea Airport (LBR), which is nearly antipodal to Kota Kinabalu International Airport (meaning Kota Kinabalu International Airport is almost on the exact opposite side of the Earth from Lábrea Airport), and is located 12,330 miles (19,843 kilometers) away in Lábrea, Amazonas, Brazil.
• In addition to being known as "Kota Kinabalu International Airport", another name for BKI is "Lapangan Terbang Antarabangsa Kota Kinabalu".
• The first flight to depart at the new wing was MH 2637 to Kuala Lumpur at 0650 hours while the last flight at the old wing was at 0025 hours.
• The closest airport to Kota Kinabalu International Airport (BKI) is Lapangan Terbang Keningau Keningau Airport (KGU), which is located 41 miles (67 kilometers) S of BKI.

Facts about RAF Mount Pleasant (MPN):

• RAF Mount Pleasant is a Royal Air Force station in the British Overseas Territory of the Falkland Islands.
• 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.
• 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.
• 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.