Nonstop flight route between Falkland Islands and Bikaner, India:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between RAF Mount Pleasant (MPN), Falkland Islands and Bikaner Air Force Base (BKB), Bikaner, India would travel a Great Circle distance of 9,472 miles (or 15,243 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 Bikaner Air Force Base, 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 Bikaner Air Force Base. 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):

• 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 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.
• The closest airport to RAF Mount Pleasant (MPN) is Port Stanley Airport (PSY), which is located 30 miles (49 kilometers) ENE of MPN.
• A flight of Westland Sea King helicopters for support and search and rescue has been located at Mount Pleasant since November 2007.
• Mount Pleasant was opened by Prince Andrew on 12 May 1985, becoming fully operational the following year.
• 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.
• Flights are planned to Saint Helena when a new airport there opens in 2016.

Facts about Bikaner Air Force Base (BKB):

• In addition to being known as "Bikaner Air Force Base", other names for BKB include "Nal Airport", "बीकानेर एयर फोर्स बेस" and "नाल हवाई अड्डे".
• The closest airport to Bikaner Air Force Base (BKB) is Jodhpur Airport (JDH), which is located 126 miles (203 kilometers) S of BKB.
• The government-owned Vayudoot operated a 20-seater aircraft to this airport in the past but the service was terminated in 1987.
• The furthest airport from Bikaner Air Force Base (BKB) is Mataveri International Airport (IPC), which is nearly antipodal to Bikaner Air Force Base (meaning Bikaner Air Force Base is almost on the exact opposite side of the Earth from Mataveri International Airport), and is located 12,264 miles (19,737 kilometers) away in Easter Island, Chile.
• Bikaner Air Force Base (BKB) currently has only 1 runway.
• Because of Bikaner Air Force Base's relatively low elevation of 750 feet, planes can take off or land at Bikaner Air Force Base 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.