Nonstop flight route between Falkland Islands and near Kralendijk, Bonaire, Caribbean Netherlands:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between RAF Mount Pleasant (MPN), Falkland Islands and Flamingo International Airport (BON), near Kralendijk, Bonaire, Caribbean Netherlands would travel a Great Circle distance of 4,458 miles (or 7,174 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 Flamingo 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 Flamingo 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):

• 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.
• RAF Mount Pleasant is a Royal Air Force station in the British Overseas Territory of the Falkland Islands.
• Using the IATA airport code MPN, RAF Mount Pleasant also acts as the Falkland Islands' only international airport, along with its military role.
• 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 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.
• Mount Pleasant was opened by Prince Andrew on 12 May 1985, becoming fully operational the following year.
• Flights are planned to Saint Helena when a new airport there opens in 2016.
• The closest airport to RAF Mount Pleasant (MPN) is Port Stanley Airport (PSY), which is located 30 miles (49 kilometers) ENE of 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.

Facts about Flamingo International Airport (BON):

• In addition to being known as "Flamingo International Airport", another name for BON is "Bonaire International Airport".
• Flamingo International Airport handled 462,897 passengers last year.
• The closest airport to Flamingo International Airport (BON) is Hato International Airport Curaçao International Airport (CUR), which is located 47 miles (75 kilometers) W of BON.
• Apart from the passenger terminal Bonaire Airport has facilities for freight and mail.
• In the past, the airport has been served by Air ABC, Air ALM, Air Aruba, Air Europe, Air Jamaica, American Eagle, Avensa, Avior Airlines, BonAir/Chapi Air, Bonaire Express/Curaçao Express, Canada 3000, Cats Air, Dutch Caribbean Airlines, E-Liner Airways, Kavok Airlines, Línea Turística Aereotuy, Martinair, Miami Air International, Royal Aruban Airlines, Servivensa and Sobelair.
• It is planned to expand the current airport building as more airlines and tourists come to Bonaire.
• Bonaire's first airport was located near Tra'i Montaña Subi Blanku and walked across the current path of Kralendijk to Rincon.
• The airport registered a more than 10% increase in passengers in the first quarter of 2008.
• Flamingo International Airport (BON) currently has only 1 runway.
• Because of Flamingo International Airport's relatively low elevation of 20 feet, planes can take off or land at Flamingo 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.
• Flamingo Airport is the third largest airport in the former Netherlands Antilles, behind St.Maarten's Princess Juliana International Airport and Curacao's Hato International Airport and is the fourth largest between the Caribbean islands of the Dutch Kingdom behind the already mentioned St.
• The furthest airport from Flamingo International Airport (BON) is Abdul Rachman Saleh Airport (MLG), which is nearly antipodal to Flamingo International Airport (meaning Flamingo International Airport is almost on the exact opposite side of the Earth from Abdul Rachman Saleh Airport), and is located 12,139 miles (19,535 kilometers) away in Malang, East Java, Indonesia.