Nonstop flight route between Falkland Islands and Bensbach, Papua New Guinea:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between RAF Mount Pleasant (MPN), Falkland Islands and Bensbach Airport (BSP), Bensbach, Papua New Guinea would travel a Great Circle distance of 8,084 miles (or 13,009 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 Bensbach 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 Bensbach 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):

• 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.
• 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.
• 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.
• RAF Mount Pleasant is the newest permanent airfield in the Royal Air Force.
• Currently located at Mount Pleasant are No.
• 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.
• 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.
• 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.

Facts about Bensbach Airport (BSP):

• Because of Bensbach Airport's relatively low elevation of 30 feet, planes can take off or land at Bensbach 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.
• The furthest airport from Bensbach Airport (BSP) is Parnaíba–Prefeito Dr. João Silva Filho International Airport (PHB), which is located 11,599 miles (18,667 kilometers) away in Parnaiba, Piaui, Brazil.
• The closest airport to Bensbach Airport (BSP) is Mopah Airport (MKQ), which is located 62 miles (99 kilometers) WNW of BSP.
• Bensbach Airport (BSP) currently has only 1 runway.