Nonstop flight route between Keflavík (near Reykjavík), Iceland and Falkland Islands:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Keflavík International Airport (KEF), Keflavík (near Reykjavík), Iceland and RAF Mount Pleasant (MPN), Falkland Islands would travel a Great Circle distance of 8,231 miles (or 13,246 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 Keflavík 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 Keflavík 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 Keflavík International Airport (KEF):

• The airport was built by the United States military during World War II.
• Keflavík International Airport (KEF) has 2 runways.
• The closest airport to Keflavík International Airport (KEF) is Reykjavík Airport (RKV), which is located 22 miles (36 kilometers) ENE of KEF.
• Because of Keflavík International Airport's relatively low elevation of 171 feet, planes can take off or land at Keflavík 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 furthest airport from Keflavík International Airport (KEF) is Ryan's Creek Aerodrome (SZS), which is located 11,188 miles (18,005 kilometers) away in Stewart Island, New Zealand.
• In addition to being known as "Keflavík International Airport", another name for KEF is "Keflavíkurflugvöllur".
• The Airport has one terminal named Leifur Eiríksson Air Terminal, named for Leif Ericson.
• In 2014 the current terminal will be enlarged.
• During the war the airport complex only served military purposes, but at war's end it became a refueling stop for the quickly developing international civil aviation crossing the Atlantic.

Facts about RAF Mount Pleasant (MPN):

• Flights of Phantoms were rotated through the airfield until 1992 when they were replaced with Tornado F3s.
• 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.
• 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.
• A flight of Westland Sea King helicopters for support and search and rescue has been located at Mount Pleasant since November 2007.
• 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.