Nonstop flight route between Falkland Islands and Mérida, Venezuela:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between RAF Mount Pleasant (MPN), Falkland Islands and Alberto Carnevalli Airport (MRD), Mérida, Venezuela would travel a Great Circle distance of 4,241 miles (or 6,826 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 Alberto Carnevalli 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 Alberto Carnevalli 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 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.
• Flights are planned to Saint Helena when a new airport there opens in 2016.
• The closest airport to RAF Mount Pleasant (MPN) is Port Stanley Airport (PSY), which is located 30 miles (49 kilometers) ENE of MPN.
• 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.
• 33 Engineer Regiment provides constant support and is part of the Joint Service Falkland Islands Detachment which consists of RAF and RLC EOD teams.
• Using the IATA airport code MPN, RAF Mount Pleasant also acts as the Falkland Islands' only international airport, along with its military role.
• 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 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.

Facts about Alberto Carnevalli Airport (MRD):

• The furthest airport from Alberto Carnevalli Airport (MRD) is Tunggul Wulung Airport (CXP), which is nearly antipodal to Alberto Carnevalli Airport (meaning Alberto Carnevalli Airport is almost on the exact opposite side of the Earth from Tunggul Wulung Airport), and is located 12,370 miles (19,907 kilometers) away in Cilacap, Java Island, Indonesia.
• Because of Alberto Carnevalli Airport's high elevation of 5,007 feet, planes must typically fly at a faster airspeed in order to takeoff or land at MRD. Combined with a high temperature, this could make MRD a "Hot & High" airport, where the air density is lower than it would otherwise be at sea level.
• Alberto Carnevalli Airport (MRD) currently has only 1 runway.
• The closest airport to Alberto Carnevalli Airport (MRD) is Juan Pablo Pérez Alfonso Airport (VIG), which is located 35 miles (56 kilometers) W of MRD.
• In addition to being known as "Alberto Carnevalli Airport", another name for MRD is "Aeropuerto Alberto Carnevalli".