Nonstop flight route between Falkland Islands and Rayong, Thailand:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between RAF Mount Pleasant (MPN), Falkland Islands and U-Tapao-Rayong-Pattaya International Airport (UTP), Rayong, Thailand would travel a Great Circle distance of 9,500 miles (or 15,289 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 U-Tapao-Rayong-Pattaya 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 U-Tapao-Rayong-Pattaya 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):

• 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.
• Flights are planned to Saint Helena when a new airport there opens in 2016.
• Flights of Phantoms were rotated through the airfield until 1992 when they were replaced with Tornado F3s.
• 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.
• 33 Engineer Regiment provides constant support and is part of the Joint Service Falkland Islands Detachment which consists of RAF and RLC EOD teams.
• A flight of Westland Sea King helicopters for support and search and rescue has been located at Mount Pleasant since November 2007.
• Using the IATA airport code MPN, RAF Mount Pleasant also acts as the Falkland Islands' only international airport, along with its military role.
• The closest airport to RAF Mount Pleasant (MPN) is Port Stanley Airport (PSY), which is located 30 miles (49 kilometers) ENE of 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.
• 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.

Facts about U-Tapao-Rayong-Pattaya International Airport (UTP):

• As many as 100,000 passengers were stranded in Thailand until early-December.
• Because of U-Tapao-Rayong-Pattaya International Airport's relatively low elevation of 42 feet, planes can take off or land at U-Tapao-Rayong-Pattaya 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.
• Airlines including AirAsia, Air France, Air Madagascar, Aeroflot, ANA, Asiana, Austrian Airlines, Bangkok Airways, Cathay Pacific, Cebu Pacific, China Airlines, El Al, Emirates, Etihad, Ethiopian Airlines, Eva Air, Garuda Indonesia, Hong Kong Express, Iberworld, Indian Airlines, Iran Air, Japan Air Lines, Jet Airways, Jetstar, Kenya Airways, Korean Air Lines, KLM, Kuwait Airways, MAI, Mahan Air, Malaysia Airlines, Philippine Airlines, Qatar Airways, S7 Airlines, Singapore Airlines, Vietnam Airlines, Thai Airways International, Turkish Airlines, Thai AirAsia, Orient Thai, Tiger Airways, Transaero and Vladivostok Avia arranged special flights from and to U-Tapao to ferry international passengers stranded because of the seizure of the Suvarnabhumi Airport.
• The furthest airport from U-Tapao-Rayong-Pattaya International Airport (UTP) is Jorge Chávez International Airport (LIM), which is nearly antipodal to U-Tapao-Rayong-Pattaya International Airport (meaning U-Tapao-Rayong-Pattaya International Airport is almost on the exact opposite side of the Earth from Jorge Chávez International Airport), and is located 12,302 miles (19,798 kilometers) away in Callao (near Lima), Peru.
• U-Tapao-Rayong-Pattaya International Airport (UTP) currently has only 1 runway.
• U-Tapao-Pattaya International Airport also spelled Utapao and U-Taphao, is a joint civil-military public airport serving Rayong and Pattaya, cities in Thailand.
• The closest airport to U-Tapao-Rayong-Pattaya International Airport (UTP) is Hua Hin Airport (HHQ), which is located 71 miles (114 kilometers) W of UTP.
• In addition to being known as "U-Tapao-Rayong-Pattaya International Airport", another name for UTP is "ท่าอากาศยานนานาชาติ อู่ตะเภา-ระยอง-พัทยา".