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):

• 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.
• 33 Engineer Regiment provides constant support and is part of the Joint Service Falkland Islands Detachment which consists of RAF and RLC EOD teams.
• RAF Mount Pleasant is a Royal Air Force station in the British Overseas Territory of the Falkland Islands.
• The closest airport to RAF Mount Pleasant (MPN) is Port Stanley Airport (PSY), which is located 30 miles (49 kilometers) ENE of 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.
• 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 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.

Facts about Flamingo International Airport (BON):

• 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.
• Management is working very hard to make sure that Bonaire International Airport is as safe as possible and this way could welcome the aircraft that come to Bonaire and contribute to the growth of the tourism on the island.
• The construction of a new runway began in the last months of 1953 and was completed in 1955.
• In addition to being known as "Flamingo International Airport", another name for BON is "Bonaire International Airport".
• 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 International Airport (BON) currently has only 1 runway.
• 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.
• Flamingo International Airport handled 462,897 passengers last year.
• Since November 2005, visitors and tourists arrving at Bonaire are welcomed to a vibrant new Business and Tourism Showcase.
• In October 2008, Bonaire introduced the new CUTE system from SITA.