Nonstop flight route between Falkland Islands and Hatfield, Hertfordshire, England, United Kingdom:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between RAF Mount Pleasant (MPN), Falkland Islands and Hatfield Aerodrome (HTF), Hatfield, Hertfordshire, England, United Kingdom would travel a Great Circle distance of 7,916 miles (or 12,740 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 Hatfield Aerodrome, 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 Hatfield Aerodrome. 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.
• 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.
• 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.
• 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.
• 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 closest airport to RAF Mount Pleasant (MPN) is Port Stanley Airport (PSY), which is located 30 miles (49 kilometers) ENE of MPN.
• RAF Mount Pleasant is the newest permanent airfield in the Royal Air Force.

Facts about Hatfield Aerodrome (HTF):

• Hatfield Aerodrome (HTF) has 2 runways.
• The closest airport to Hatfield Aerodrome (HTF) is London Luton Airport (LTN), which is located only 9 miles (15 kilometers) NNW of HTF.
• The furthest airport from Hatfield Aerodrome (HTF) is Chatham Islands (CHT), which is located 11,860 miles (19,086 kilometers) away in Waitangi, Chatham Islands, New Zealand.
• The ICAO code, EGTH, has subsequently been reallocated to Old Warden Aerodrome in Bedfordshire.
• The airfield closed but was later used as a film set for Saving Private Ryan and the television series Band of Brothers.
• In 1992, due to severe financial problems, British Aerospace announced the cessation of aircraft production at Hatfield from 1993.
• The 146 first flew in 1981 and production of some components, final assembly and flight testing of the first two series of the aircraft was based at Hatfield during the early and mid 1980s.
• The Hatfield Aerodrome History Trail was officially opened on 24 November 2010.
• Because of Hatfield Aerodrome's relatively low elevation of 254 feet, planes can take off or land at Hatfield Aerodrome 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.