Nonstop flight route between Osaka, Japan and Falkland Islands:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Kansai International Airport (KIX), Osaka, Japan and RAF Mount Pleasant (MPN), Falkland Islands would travel a Great Circle distance of 11,057 miles (or 17,794 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 Kansai 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 Kansai 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 Kansai International Airport (KIX):

• The bidding and construction of the airport was a source of international trade friction during the late 1980s and early 1990s.
• The initial plan called for completion in fiscal year 2015, but NKIAC announced in July 2013 that completion would be postponed by one year due to Jetstar Japan canceling plans to establish a second domestic base at KIX, as well as decreased traffic to and from the People's Republic of China due to recent issues in Sino-Japanese relations.
• Because of Kansai International Airport's relatively low elevation of 17 feet, planes can take off or land at Kansai 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.
• An artificial island, 4 km long and 2.5 km wide, was proposed.
• In May 2011, the Diet of Japan passed legislation to form a new Kansai International Airport Corporation using the state's existing equity stake in Kansai Airport and its property holdings at Itami Airport.
• The airport had been deeply in debt, losing $560 million in interest every year.
• The closest airport to Kansai International Airport (KIX) is Kobe Airport (UKB), which is located only 14 miles (22 kilometers) N of KIX.
• In addition to being known as "Kansai International Airport", other names for KIX include "関西国際空港" and "Kansai Kokusai Kūkō".
• Opened on 4 September 1994, the airport serves as a hub for several airlines such as All Nippon Airways, Japan Airlines, and Nippon Cargo Airlines.
• Kansai has been marketed as an alternative to Narita Airport for international travelers from the Greater Tokyo Area.
• The furthest airport from Kansai International Airport (KIX) is Rio Grande Regional Airport (RIG), which is located 11,980 miles (19,279 kilometers) away in Rio Grande, Brazil.
• Kansai International Airport (KIX) has 2 runways.
• On 19 April 2001, the airport was one of ten structures given the "Civil Engineering Monument of the Millennium" award by the American Society of Civil Engineers.

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.
• 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 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.
• The closest airport to RAF Mount Pleasant (MPN) is Port Stanley Airport (PSY), which is located 30 miles (49 kilometers) ENE of MPN.
• Flights are planned to Saint Helena when a new airport there opens in 2016.
• A flight of Westland Sea King helicopters for support and search and rescue has been located at Mount Pleasant since November 2007.
• Using the IATA airport code MPN, RAF Mount Pleasant also acts as the Falkland Islands' only international airport, along with its military role.