Nonstop flight route between Falkland Islands and Hefei, Anhui, China:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between RAF Mount Pleasant (MPN), Falkland Islands and Hefei Luogang International Airport (HFE), Hefei, Anhui, China would travel a Great Circle distance of 11,035 miles (or 17,760 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 Hefei Luogang 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 Hefei Luogang 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.
• Flights are planned to Saint Helena when a new airport there opens in 2016.
• 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.
• 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.
• A flight of Westland Sea King helicopters for support and search and rescue has been located at Mount Pleasant since November 2007.
• Using the IATA airport code MPN, RAF Mount Pleasant also acts as the Falkland Islands' only international airport, along with its military role.

Facts about Hefei Luogang International Airport (HFE):

• Hefei Luogang International Airport handled 4,398,739 passengers last year.
• The furthest airport from Hefei Luogang International Airport (HFE) is Ingeniero Aeronáutico Ambrosio L.V. Taravella International Airport (COR), which is nearly antipodal to Hefei Luogang International Airport (meaning Hefei Luogang International Airport is almost on the exact opposite side of the Earth from Ingeniero Aeronáutico Ambrosio L.V. Taravella International Airport), and is located 12,342 miles (19,863 kilometers) away in Córdoba, Córdoba, Argentina.
• Hefei Luogang International Airport (HFE) currently has only 1 runway.
• Because of Hefei Luogang International Airport's relatively low elevation of 108 feet, planes can take off or land at Hefei Luogang 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 closest airport to Hefei Luogang International Airport (HFE) is Bengbu Airport (BFU), which is located 74 miles (119 kilometers) N of HFE.
• In addition to being known as "Hefei Luogang International Airport", other names for HFE include "合肥骆岗国际机场" and "Héféi Luògǎng Guójì Jīchǎng".