Nonstop flight route between Falkland Islands and Gandajika, Democratic Republic of the Congo:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between RAF Mount Pleasant (MPN), Falkland Islands and Gandajika Airport (GDJ), Gandajika, Democratic Republic of the Congo would travel a Great Circle distance of 5,529 miles (or 8,897 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 Gandajika 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 Gandajika 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.
• Mount Pleasant was opened by Prince Andrew on 12 May 1985, becoming fully operational the following year.
• 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.
• 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.
• A flight of Westland Sea King helicopters for support and search and rescue has been located at Mount Pleasant since November 2007.
• 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.
• 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.

Facts about Gandajika Airport (GDJ):

• The furthest airport from Gandajika Airport (GDJ) is Cassidy International Airport (CXI), which is nearly antipodal to Gandajika Airport (meaning Gandajika Airport is almost on the exact opposite side of the Earth from Cassidy International Airport), and is located 12,097 miles (19,468 kilometers) away in Christmas Island, Kiribati.
• The closest airport to Gandajika Airport (GDJ) is Mbuji Mayi Airport (MJM), which is located 50 miles (80 kilometers) NNW of GDJ.