Nonstop flight route between Falkland Islands and Shijiazhuang, China:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between RAF Mount Pleasant (MPN), Falkland Islands and Shijiazhuang Zhengding International Airport (SJW), Shijiazhuang, China would travel a Great Circle distance of 11,444 miles (or 18,418 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 Shijiazhuang Zhengding 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 Shijiazhuang Zhengding 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):

• Flights of Phantoms were rotated through the airfield until 1992 when they were replaced with Tornado F3s.
• 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.
• 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.
• 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.
• Flights are planned to Saint Helena when a new airport there opens in 2016.
• Using the IATA airport code MPN, RAF Mount Pleasant also acts as the Falkland Islands' only international airport, along with its military role.
• Mount Pleasant was opened by Prince Andrew on 12 May 1985, becoming fully operational the following year.
• A flight of Westland Sea King helicopters for support and search and rescue has been located at Mount Pleasant since November 2007.
• Additionally, every Saturday LAN Airlines operates a scheduled commercial flight to Presidente Carlos Ibáñez del Campo International Airport of the Punta Arenas city in southern Chile, stopping at Río Gallegos, Argentina once a month.

Facts about Shijiazhuang Zhengding International Airport (SJW):

• In addition to being known as "Shijiazhuang Zhengding International Airport", other names for SJW include "石家莊正定國際機場" and "Shíjiāzhuāng Zhèngdìng Guójì Jīchǎng".
• It takes under 15 minutes for a D- or G-series train to travel from Zhengding Airport Station to Shijiazhuang Railway Station.
• Shijiazhuang Zhengding International Airport handled 4,021,167 passengers last year.
• Because of Shijiazhuang Zhengding International Airport's relatively low elevation of 233 feet, planes can take off or land at Shijiazhuang Zhengding 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.
• Shijiazhuang Zhengding International Airport (SJW) currently has only 1 runway.
• The furthest airport from Shijiazhuang Zhengding International Airport (SJW) is Santa Rosa Airport (RSA), which is nearly antipodal to Shijiazhuang Zhengding International Airport (meaning Shijiazhuang Zhengding International Airport is almost on the exact opposite side of the Earth from Santa Rosa Airport), and is located 12,307 miles (19,807 kilometers) away in Santa Rosa, Argentina.
• The closest airport to Shijiazhuang Zhengding International Airport (SJW) is Xingtai Dalian Airport (XNT), which is located 98 miles (157 kilometers) S of SJW.