Nonstop flight route between Falkland Islands and Sanford, Florida (near Orlando), United States:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between RAF Mount Pleasant (MPN), Falkland Islands and Orlando/Sanford International Airport (SFB), Sanford, Florida (near Orlando), United States would travel a Great Circle distance of 5,738 miles (or 9,235 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 Orlando/Sanford 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 Orlando/Sanford 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):

• Using the IATA airport code MPN, RAF Mount Pleasant also acts as the Falkland Islands' only international airport, along with its military role.
• 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 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.
• 33 Engineer Regiment provides constant support and is part of the Joint Service Falkland Islands Detachment which consists of RAF and RLC EOD teams.
• 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 closest airport to RAF Mount Pleasant (MPN) is Port Stanley Airport (PSY), which is located 30 miles (49 kilometers) ENE of MPN.

Facts about Orlando/Sanford International Airport (SFB):

• Orlando-Sanford International Airport is in Sanford, Florida, near Orlando.
• In 2010 Allegiant Air announced it was moving many flights to larger and more centrally located Orlando International Airport to compete with AirTran Airways.
• The closest airport to Orlando/Sanford International Airport (SFB) is Orlando Executive Airport (ORL), which is located only 17 miles (27 kilometers) SSW of SFB.
• OLF Osceola was transferred to the control of Seminole County, Florida but was never officially recommissioned as an active airfield.
• Because of Orlando/Sanford International Airport's relatively low elevation of 55 feet, planes can take off or land at Orlando/Sanford 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.
• Orlando/Sanford International Airport (SFB) has 4 runways.
• The furthest airport from Orlando/Sanford International Airport (SFB) is Shark Bay Airport (MJK), which is located 11,507 miles (18,518 kilometers) away in Monkey Mia, Western Australia, Australia.