Nonstop flight route between Batticaloa, Sri Lanka and Falkland Islands:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Batticaloa Airport (BTC), Batticaloa, Sri Lanka and RAF Mount Pleasant (MPN), Falkland Islands would travel a Great Circle distance of 8,646 miles (or 13,914 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 Batticaloa 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 Batticaloa 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 Batticaloa Airport (BTC):

• Batticaloa Airport (BTC) currently has only 1 runway.
• In addition to being known as "Batticaloa Airport", another name for BTC is "மட்டக்களப்பு விமான நிலையம்මඩකලපුව ගුවන්තොටුපළ".
• Because of Batticaloa Airport's relatively low elevation of 10 feet, planes can take off or land at Batticaloa 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 furthest airport from Batticaloa Airport (BTC) is Seymour Airport (GPS), which is located 11,689 miles (18,812 kilometers) away in Baltra Island, Galápagos Islands, Ecuador.
• The closest airport to Batticaloa Airport (BTC) is Ampara Airport (ADP), which is located 26 miles (41 kilometers) S of BTC.

Facts about RAF Mount Pleasant (MPN):

• RAF Mount Pleasant is the newest permanent airfield in the 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.
• 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.
• Additionally, every Saturday LAN Airlines operates a scheduled commercial flight to Presidente Carlos Ibáñez del Campo International Airport of the Punta Arenas city in southern Chile, stopping at Río Gallegos, Argentina once a month.
• 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 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.
• Flights of Phantoms were rotated through the airfield until 1992 when they were replaced with Tornado F3s.
• A flight of Westland Sea King helicopters for support and search and rescue has been located at Mount Pleasant since November 2007.