Nonstop flight route between Wilmington, North Carolina, United States and Falkland Islands:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Wilmington International Airport (ILM), Wilmington, North Carolina, United States and RAF Mount Pleasant (MPN), Falkland Islands would travel a Great Circle distance of 6,064 miles (or 9,759 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 Wilmington 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 Wilmington 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 Wilmington International Airport (ILM):

• Because of Wilmington International Airport's relatively low elevation of 32 feet, planes can take off or land at Wilmington 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.
• When the contamination of the site was discovered, about 500 people live within a mile of the Site.
• In addition to being known as "Wilmington International Airport", another name for ILM is "New Hanover County International Airport".
• Wilmington International Airport (ILM) has 2 runways.
• During World War II, the airfield was used by the United States Army Air Forces Third Air Force for antisubmarine patrols and training.
• In 2006, the FAA Airport Improvement Program awarded Wilmington International Airport $10,526,342.
• American Eagle began service between Wilmington and Chicago O'Hare International Airport in July 2011 after the airport authority offered two years of waived fees and marketing cost sharing.
• The furthest airport from Wilmington International Airport (ILM) is Margaret River Airport (MGV), which is located 11,693 miles (18,818 kilometers) away in Margaret River, Western Australia, Australia.
• The closest airport to Wilmington International Airport (ILM) is Albert J. Ellis Airport (OAJ), which is located 42 miles (68 kilometers) NNE of ILM.

Facts about RAF Mount Pleasant (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.
• 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.
• 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.
• 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.
• 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.
• 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.
• Mount Pleasant was opened by Prince Andrew on 12 May 1985, becoming fully operational the following year.
• The closest airport to RAF Mount Pleasant (MPN) is Port Stanley Airport (PSY), which is located 30 miles (49 kilometers) ENE of MPN.