Nonstop flight route between Falkland Islands and Santiago de Guayaquil, Ecuador:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between RAF Mount Pleasant (MPN), Falkland Islands and José Joaquín de Olmedo International Airport (GYE), Santiago de Guayaquil, Ecuador would travel a Great Circle distance of 3,648 miles (or 5,872 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 José Joaquín de Olmedo 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 José Joaquín de Olmedo 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):

• Flights are planned to Saint Helena when a new airport there opens in 2016.
• 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.
• 33 Engineer Regiment provides constant support and is part of the Joint Service Falkland Islands Detachment which consists of RAF and RLC EOD teams.
• The closest airport to RAF Mount Pleasant (MPN) is Port Stanley Airport (PSY), which is located 30 miles (49 kilometers) ENE of 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.
• Additionally, every Saturday LAN Airlines operates a scheduled commercial flight to Presidente Carlos Ibáñez del Campo International Airport of the Punta Arenas city in southern Chile, stopping at Río Gallegos, Argentina once a month.
• RAF Mount Pleasant is the newest permanent airfield in the Royal Air Force.

Facts about José Joaquín de Olmedo International Airport (GYE):

• Because of José Joaquín de Olmedo International Airport's relatively low elevation of 19 feet, planes can take off or land at José Joaquín de Olmedo 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.
• José Joaquín de Olmedo International Airport (GYE) currently has only 1 runway.
• The original project in 2003–2004 contemplated the construction of a 28,000 m2 international terminal and the continuing operation of the old terminal, which would be left to handle only domestic flights.
• José Joaquín de Olmedo International Airport was named "Best Airport in Latin America 2008 & 2009" by BusinessWeek and the second best in 2011.
• The closest airport to José Joaquín de Olmedo International Airport (GYE) is General Ulpiano Paez Airport (SNC), which is located 76 miles (123 kilometers) W of GYE.
• The furthest airport from José Joaquín de Olmedo International Airport (GYE) is Aek Godang Airport (AEG), which is nearly antipodal to José Joaquín de Olmedo International Airport (meaning José Joaquín de Olmedo International Airport is almost on the exact opposite side of the Earth from Aek Godang Airport), and is located 12,366 miles (19,901 kilometers) away in Padang Sidempuan, Indonesia.
• In addition to being known as "José Joaquín de Olmedo International Airport", another name for GYE is "Aeropuerto Internacional José Joaquín de Olmedo".