Nonstop flight route between Falkland Islands and Sitka, Alaska, United States:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between RAF Mount Pleasant (MPN), Falkland Islands and Sitka Rocky Gutierrez Airport (SIT), Sitka, Alaska, United States would travel a Great Circle distance of 8,685 miles (or 13,977 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 Sitka Rocky Gutierrez 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 Sitka Rocky Gutierrez 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 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.
• Using the IATA airport code MPN, RAF Mount Pleasant also acts as the Falkland Islands' only international airport, along with its military role.
• 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 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.
• 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.
• A flight of Westland Sea King helicopters for support and search and rescue has been located at Mount Pleasant since November 2007.

Facts about Sitka Rocky Gutierrez Airport (SIT):

• Because of Sitka Rocky Gutierrez Airport's relatively low elevation of 26 feet, planes can take off or land at Sitka Rocky Gutierrez 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.
• As per Federal Aviation Administration records, the airport had 68,197 passenger boardings in calendar year 2008, 62,498 enplanements in 2009, and 64,536 in 2010.
• The furthest airport from Sitka Rocky Gutierrez Airport (SIT) is Port Alfred Airport (AFD), which is located 10,611 miles (17,077 kilometers) away in Port Alfred, South Africa.
• The closest airport to Sitka Rocky Gutierrez Airport (SIT) is Chatham Seaplane Base (CYM), which is located 36 miles (58 kilometers) NNE of SIT.
• Sitka Rocky Gutierrez Airport (SIT) currently has only 1 runway.
• The airport also has hangars for air traffic control, Civil Air Patrol, and private enterprises.