Nonstop flight route between Falkland Islands and Lhoksumawe, Sumatra, Indonesia:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between RAF Mount Pleasant (MPN), Falkland Islands and Malikus Saleh Airport (LSW), Lhoksumawe, Sumatra, Indonesia would travel a Great Circle distance of 8,923 miles (or 14,360 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 Malikus Saleh 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 Malikus Saleh 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):

• 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.
• Flights of Phantoms were rotated through the airfield until 1992 when they were replaced with Tornado F3s.
• 33 Engineer Regiment provides constant support and is part of the Joint Service Falkland Islands Detachment which consists of RAF and RLC EOD teams.
• 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 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 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.
• 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 Malikus Saleh Airport (LSW):

• Lhoksukon airport, owned by Pt Exxon Mobil is also nearby.
• In addition to being known as "Malikus Saleh Airport", another name for LSW is "Bandar Udara Malikussaleh".
• The airport was built by PT Arun NGL to facilitate the transport of Lhokseumawe and its vicinity to the city of Medan.
• Malikus Saleh Airport (LSW) currently has only 1 runway.
• The closest airport to Malikus Saleh Airport (LSW) is Sultan Iskandar Muda International Airport (BTJ), which is located 107 miles (173 kilometers) W of LSW.
• PT Arun NGL initially using aircraft owned by Pelita Air Service to daily flights Lhokseumawe - Medan route.
• The furthest airport from Malikus Saleh Airport (LSW) is Cap. FAP Victor Montes Arias Airport (TYL), which is nearly antipodal to Malikus Saleh Airport (meaning Malikus Saleh Airport is almost on the exact opposite side of the Earth from Cap. FAP Victor Montes Arias Airport), and is located 12,305 miles (19,803 kilometers) away in Talara, Peru.
• Because of Malikus Saleh Airport's relatively low elevation of 90 feet, planes can take off or land at Malikus Saleh 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.