Nonstop flight route between Bellingham, Washington, United States and Falkland Islands:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Bellingham International Airport (BLI), Bellingham, Washington, United States and RAF Mount Pleasant (MPN), Falkland Islands would travel a Great Circle distance of 7,906 miles (or 12,723 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 Bellingham 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 Bellingham 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 Bellingham International Airport (BLI):

• The closest airport to Bellingham International Airport (BLI) is Blaine Municipal Airport (BWS), which is located only 16 miles (26 kilometers) NNW of BLI.
• The furthest airport from Bellingham International Airport (BLI) is Tôlanaro Airport (FTU), which is located 10,700 miles (17,220 kilometers) away in Tôlanaro, Madagascar.
• In addition to being known as "Bellingham International Airport", another name for BLI is "(Bellingham/Tulip Army Airfield)".
• Bellingham International Airport (BLI) currently has only 1 runway.
• In the 1990s homes were purchased to extend the runway in an effort to attract air carriers.
• In early 2007 Bellingham International hosted service to three destinations by the short-lived Western Airlines.
• Because of Bellingham International Airport's relatively low elevation of 170 feet, planes can take off or land at Bellingham 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.
• The airport is presently undergoing a significant expansion to the commercial passenger terminal building which will increase the size of the terminal building from 27,000 to 85,000 square feet.

Facts about RAF Mount Pleasant (MPN):

• 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.
• Flights of Phantoms were rotated through the airfield until 1992 when they were replaced with Tornado F3s.
• 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.
• 33 Engineer Regiment provides constant support and is part of the Joint Service Falkland Islands Detachment which consists of RAF and RLC EOD teams.
• Flights are planned to Saint Helena when a new airport there opens in 2016.
• 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.