Nonstop flight route between Falkland Islands and Freetown, Sierra Leone:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between RAF Mount Pleasant (MPN), Falkland Islands and Lungi International Airport (FNA), Freetown, Sierra Leone would travel a Great Circle distance of 4,960 miles (or 7,983 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 Lungi 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 Lungi 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):

• The closest airport to RAF Mount Pleasant (MPN) is Port Stanley Airport (PSY), which is located 30 miles (49 kilometers) ENE of 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.
• Mount Pleasant was opened by Prince Andrew on 12 May 1985, becoming fully operational the following year.
• 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.
• Using the IATA airport code MPN, RAF Mount Pleasant also acts as the Falkland Islands' only international airport, along with its military role.
• RAF Mount Pleasant has a wide range of social and sporting facilities including a gym, swimming pool, golf course, diving centre, karting, laserquest, library, cinema, bowling, climbing wall and indoor and outdoor sports pitches.

Facts about Lungi International Airport (FNA):

• Lungi International Airport (FNA) currently has only 1 runway.
• On August 11, 2004 at around 2:30 p.m.
• The closest airport to Lungi International Airport (FNA) is Hastings Airport (HGS), which is located only 16 miles (26 kilometers) SSE of FNA.
• Lungi International Airport handled 167,911 passengers last year.
• The furthest airport from Lungi International Airport (FNA) is Ulawa Airport (RNA), which is nearly antipodal to Lungi International Airport (meaning Lungi International Airport is almost on the exact opposite side of the Earth from Ulawa Airport), and is located 12,097 miles (19,468 kilometers) away in Arona, Ulawa Island, Solomon Islands.
• Passengers have the choice of ferry, the new Pelican Water Taxi or an ex-Isle of Wight Hovercraft docked in the Aberdeen district of Freetown to cross the bay to Freetown.
• Because of Lungi International Airport's relatively low elevation of 84 feet, planes can take off or land at Lungi 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.