Nonstop flight route between Xiahe, Gansu, China and Falkland Islands:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Gannan Xiahe Airport (GXH), Xiahe, Gansu, China and RAF Mount Pleasant (MPN), Falkland Islands would travel a Great Circle distance of 10,935 miles (or 17,597 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 Gannan Xiahe 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 Gannan Xiahe 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 Gannan Xiahe Airport (GXH):

• The furthest airport from Gannan Xiahe Airport (GXH) is Carriel Sur International Airport (CCP), which is nearly antipodal to Gannan Xiahe Airport (meaning Gannan Xiahe Airport is almost on the exact opposite side of the Earth from Carriel Sur International Airport), and is located 12,161 miles (19,571 kilometers) away in Concepción, Bío Bío Region, Chile.
• The closest airport to Gannan Xiahe Airport (GXH) is Xining Caojiabao Airport (XNN), which is located 123 miles (199 kilometers) NNW of GXH.
• In addition to being known as "Gannan Xiahe Airport", other names for GXH include "甘南夏河机场" and "Gānnán Xiàhé Jīchǎng".

Facts about RAF Mount Pleasant (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.
• The closest airport to RAF Mount Pleasant (MPN) is Port Stanley Airport (PSY), which is located 30 miles (49 kilometers) ENE of MPN.
• On 10 November 2011, it was announced that Prince William would be serving as a Sea King pilot on the station for six weeks during February and March 2012.
• Flights are planned to Saint Helena when a new airport there opens in 2016.
• 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.
• RAF Mount Pleasant has a wide range of social and sporting facilities including a gym, swimming pool, golf course, diving centre, karting, laserquest, library, cinema, bowling, climbing wall and indoor and outdoor sports pitches.