Nonstop flight route between Falkland Islands and Jeddah, Saudi Arabia:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between RAF Mount Pleasant (MPN), Falkland Islands and King Abdulaziz International Airport (JED), Jeddah, Saudi Arabia would travel a Great Circle distance of 7,703 miles (or 12,398 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 King Abdulaziz 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 King Abdulaziz 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):

• Mount Pleasant was opened by Prince Andrew on 12 May 1985, becoming fully operational the following year.
• 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.
• 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 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.
• 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.
• 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 King Abdulaziz International Airport (JED):

• In addition to being known as "King Abdulaziz International Airport", another name for JED is "مطار الملك عبدالعزيز الدولي".
• Because of King Abdulaziz International Airport's relatively low elevation of 48 feet, planes can take off or land at King Abdulaziz 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.
• King Abdulaziz International Airport handled 27,111,000 passengers last year.
• At five million square feet, the Jeddah airport Hajj Terminal is estimated to be among the world's largest air terminals after Beijing Capital International Airport, Dubai International Airport and Hong Kong International Airport.
• Designed by the famous Bangladeshi engineer Fazlur Khan of the architectural firm Skidmore, Owings & Merrill LLP, it is known for its tentlike roof structure, engineered by Horst Berger.
• The Hajj Terminal received the Aga Khan Award for Architecture in 1983.
• The furthest airport from King Abdulaziz International Airport (JED) is Tureira Airport (ZTA), which is nearly antipodal to King Abdulaziz International Airport (meaning King Abdulaziz International Airport is almost on the exact opposite side of the Earth from Tureira Airport), and is located 12,277 miles (19,758 kilometers) away in Tureia, Tuamotus, French Polynesia.
• King Abdulaziz International Airport (JED) has 3 runways.
• The closest airport to King Abdulaziz International Airport (JED) is Ta'if Regional Airport (TIF), which is located 90 miles (145 kilometers) E of JED.