Nonstop flight route between Falkland Islands and Barranquilla, Colombia:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between RAF Mount Pleasant (MPN), Falkland Islands and Ernesto Cortissoz International Airport (BAQ), Barranquilla, Colombia would travel a Great Circle distance of 4,441 miles (or 7,148 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 Ernesto Cortissoz International 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 Ernesto Cortissoz International 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):

• 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 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 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.
• Flights are planned to Saint Helena when a new airport there opens in 2016.
• 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.
• 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.
• 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 Ernesto Cortissoz International Airport (BAQ):

• The airport has a taxiway parallel to the runway in order to reach both ends.
• The furthest airport from Ernesto Cortissoz International Airport (BAQ) is Christmas Island Airport (XCH), which is nearly antipodal to Ernesto Cortissoz International Airport (meaning Ernesto Cortissoz International Airport is almost on the exact opposite side of the Earth from Christmas Island Airport), and is located 12,393 miles (19,944 kilometers) away in Christmas Island, Australia.
• In addition to being known as "Ernesto Cortissoz International Airport", another name for BAQ is "Aeropuerto Internacional Ernesto Cortissoz".
• Also in 1946 British South American Airways commenced operation at Barranquilla, using a Lancastrian to provide one weekly flight to London via Bermuda.
• The closest airport to Ernesto Cortissoz International Airport (BAQ) is Simón Bolívar International Airport (SMR), which is located 41 miles (65 kilometers) ENE of BAQ.
• Ernesto Cortissoz International Airport (BAQ) currently has only 1 runway.
• Because of Ernesto Cortissoz International Airport's relatively low elevation of 98 feet, planes can take off or land at Ernesto Cortissoz 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.
• Finally on the afternoon of April 7, 1981, Julio Cesar Turbay, president of the Republic and Alvaro Uribe Velez, Chief of the Aeronáutica Civil dedicated Barranquilla's new international airport Ernesto Cortissoz.
• Ernesto Cortissoz International Airport is an airport serving the area of Barranquilla, the capital city of the Atlántico department in Colombia.