Nonstop flight route between Falkland Islands and Fuzhou, Fujian, China:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between RAF Mount Pleasant (MPN), Falkland Islands and Fuzhou Changle International Airport (FOC), Fuzhou, Fujian, China would travel a Great Circle distance of 10,645 miles (or 17,132 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 Fuzhou Changle 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 Fuzhou Changle 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.
• There is also a Joint Communications Unit providing the electronic warfare and command and control systems for the Royal Navy, British Army and Royal Air Force.
• 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.
• 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.
• RAF Mount Pleasant is the newest permanent airfield in the Royal Air Force.
• 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.
• 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.
• A flight of Westland Sea King helicopters for support and search and rescue has been located at Mount Pleasant since November 2007.

Facts about Fuzhou Changle International Airport (FOC):

• In addition to being known as "Fuzhou Changle International Airport", other names for FOC include "福州长乐国际机场" and "Fúzhōu Chánglè Guójì Jīchǎng".
• Fuzhou Changle International Airport (FOC) currently has only 1 runway.
• Fuzhou Changle International Airport is an airport serving Fuzhou, the capital of Fujian province, China.
• Fuzhou Changle International Airport handled 6,476,773 passengers last year.
• In 2010, Fuzhou airport handled 6,476,773 passengers.
• The closest airport to Fuzhou Changle International Airport (FOC) is Nangan Airport (LZN), which is located 24 miles (39 kilometers) NE of FOC.
• Because of Fuzhou Changle International Airport's relatively low elevation of 46 feet, planes can take off or land at Fuzhou Changle 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.
• The furthest airport from Fuzhou Changle International Airport (FOC) is Resistencia International Airport (RES), which is nearly antipodal to Fuzhou Changle International Airport (meaning Fuzhou Changle International Airport is almost on the exact opposite side of the Earth from Resistencia International Airport), and is located 12,306 miles (19,804 kilometers) away in Resistencia, Chaco, Argentina.