Nonstop flight route between Falkland Islands and Arrecife, Canary Islands, Spain:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between RAF Mount Pleasant (MPN), Falkland Islands and Lanzarote Airport (ACE), Arrecife, Canary Islands, Spain would travel a Great Circle distance of 6,206 miles (or 9,988 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 RAF Mount Pleasant and Lanzarote Airport, 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 RAF Mount Pleasant and Lanzarote Airport. 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 RAF Mount Pleasant (MPN):

• 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.
• 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 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.
• 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 closest airport to RAF Mount Pleasant (MPN) is Port Stanley Airport (PSY), which is located 30 miles (49 kilometers) ENE of MPN.

Facts about Lanzarote Airport (ACE):

• In 2002, in response to interest from both tourists and local people about the island's aviation heritage, Aena decided to use the Guacimeta passenger terminal as an aviation museum.
• Lanzarote Airport handled 5,334,598 passengers last year.
• The closest airport to Lanzarote Airport (ACE) is Fuerteventura Airport (FUE), which is located 37 miles (60 kilometers) SSW of ACE.
• The furthest airport from Lanzarote Airport (ACE) is Norfolk Island Airport (NLK), which is nearly antipodal to Lanzarote Airport (meaning Lanzarote Airport is almost on the exact opposite side of the Earth from Norfolk Island Airport), and is located 12,343 miles (19,865 kilometers) away in Norfolk Island, Australia.
• In addition to being known as "Lanzarote Airport", another name for ACE is "Aeropuerto de Lanzarote".
• In the 1930s a need for an aerodrome on the island became evident when connections were required with the other islands and the mainland, as well as a refuelling point for aircraft.
• Because of Lanzarote Airport's relatively low elevation of 47 feet, planes can take off or land at Lanzarote 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.
• A new passenger terminal was constructed along with a control centre, and on 3 March 1970 international and domestic flights began using the airport.
• Lanzarote Airport (ACE) currently has only 1 runway.