Nonstop flight route between Falkland Islands and Minsk, Belarus:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between RAF Mount Pleasant (MPN), Falkland Islands and Minsk-1 Airport (MHP), Minsk, Belarus would travel a Great Circle distance of 8,812 miles (or 14,182 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 Minsk-1 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 Minsk-1 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):

• 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 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.
• The closest airport to RAF Mount Pleasant (MPN) is Port Stanley Airport (PSY), which is located 30 miles (49 kilometers) ENE of MPN.
• 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.

Facts about Minsk-1 Airport (MHP):

• During the 1970s, the airport served over one million passengers per year.
• Minsk-1 was built in 1933.
• Because of Minsk-1 Airport's relatively low elevation of 748 feet, planes can take off or land at Minsk-1 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 furthest airport from Minsk-1 Airport (MHP) is Chatham Islands (CHT), which is located 11,153 miles (17,949 kilometers) away in Waitangi, Chatham Islands, New Zealand.
• The closest airport to Minsk-1 Airport (MHP) is Minsk National Airport (MSQ), which is located 20 miles (32 kilometers) E of MHP.
• Minsk-1 Airport (MHP) currently has only 1 runway.
• In addition to being known as "Minsk-1 Airport", other names for MHP include "Аэрапорт Мінск-1" and "Аэропорт Минск-1".
• Flights to Moscow-Vnukovo were served from the airport until 26 October 2012.