Nonstop flight route between Greenwood, South Carolina, United States and Falkland Islands:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Greenwood County Airport (GRD), Greenwood, South Carolina, United States and RAF Mount Pleasant (MPN), Falkland Islands would travel a Great Circle distance of 6,118 miles (or 9,846 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 Greenwood County 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 Greenwood County 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 Greenwood County Airport (GRD):

• Greenwood County Airport is a county owned, public use airport located three nautical miles north of the central business district of Greenwood, a city in Greenwood County, South Carolina, United States.
• The furthest airport from Greenwood County Airport (GRD) is Margaret River Airport (MGV), which is located 11,450 miles (18,427 kilometers) away in Margaret River, Western Australia, Australia.
• In addition to being known as "Greenwood County Airport", another name for GRD is "Coronaca Army Airfield".
• Greenwood County Airport (GRD) currently has only 1 runway.
• Because of Greenwood County Airport's relatively low elevation of 631 feet, planes can take off or land at Greenwood County 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 closest airport to Greenwood County Airport (GRD) is Anderson Regional Airport (AND), which is located 36 miles (57 kilometers) WNW of GRD.

Facts about RAF Mount Pleasant (MPN):

• 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.
• 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.
• 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 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 closest airport to RAF Mount Pleasant (MPN) is Port Stanley Airport (PSY), which is located 30 miles (49 kilometers) ENE of MPN.
• Using the IATA airport code MPN, RAF Mount Pleasant also acts as the Falkland Islands' only international airport, along with its military role.
• 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.