Nonstop flight route between Falkland Islands and Del Rio, Texas, United States:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between RAF Mount Pleasant (MPN), Falkland Islands and Laughlin Air Force Base (DLF), Del Rio, Texas, United States would travel a Great Circle distance of 6,168 miles (or 9,926 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 Laughlin 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 Laughlin 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):

• 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.
• 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.
• 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 closest airport to RAF Mount Pleasant (MPN) is Port Stanley Airport (PSY), which is located 30 miles (49 kilometers) ENE of MPN.
• Mount Pleasant was opened by Prince Andrew on 12 May 1985, becoming fully operational the following year.
• Flights of Phantoms were rotated through the airfield until 1992 when they were replaced with Tornado F3s.
• 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 Laughlin Air Force Base (DLF):

• The median income for a household on the base was $38,625, and the median income for a family was $38,625.
• Aside from the reservoir outside of Del Rio for fishing and some lake diving, most forms of recreation are either in the town of Del Rio or across the border in Ciudad Acuña, however current DoD policy does not allow travel across the border for military personnel.
• The furthest airport from Laughlin Air Force Base (DLF) is Sir Gaëtan Duval Airport (RRG), which is located 11,241 miles (18,091 kilometers) away in Rodrigues Island, Mauritius.
• Laughlin AFB, the largest pilot training base in the USAF, is home to the 47th Flying Training Wing of the Air Education and Training Command.
• The closest airport to Laughlin Air Force Base (DLF) is Del Rio International Airport (DRT), which is located only 9 miles (15 kilometers) W of DLF.
• The Air Force transferred jurisdiction of the base to the Strategic Air Command on April 1, 1957 and the 4080th Strategic Reconnaissance Wing moved there from Turner Air Force Base, Georgia.
• Another 4080th pilot, Major Rudolf Anderson, Jr., perished when his U-2 was hit by shrapnel from a Soviet-made SA-2 on October 22, 1962 while overflying Cuba from McCoy AFB.