Nonstop flight route between Falkland Islands and Washabo, Suriname:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between RAF Mount Pleasant (MPN), Falkland Islands and Washabo Airstrip (WSO), Washabo, Suriname would travel a Great Circle distance of 3,944 miles (or 6,347 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 Washabo Airstrip, 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 Washabo Airstrip. 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 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.
• 33 Engineer Regiment provides constant support and is part of the Joint Service Falkland Islands Detachment which consists of RAF and RLC EOD teams.
• 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.
• 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.
• 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 Washabo Airstrip (WSO):

• In addition to being known as "Washabo Airstrip", another name for WSO is "SMWS".
• The closest airport to Washabo Airstrip (WSO) is Majoor Henry Fernandes Airport (ICK), which is located 50 miles (80 kilometers) N of WSO.
• The furthest airport from Washabo Airstrip (WSO) is Betoambari Airport (BUW), which is nearly antipodal to Washabo Airstrip (meaning Washabo Airstrip is almost on the exact opposite side of the Earth from Betoambari Airport), and is located 12,413 miles (19,976 kilometers) away in Bau-Bau, Buton, Indonesia.
• Because of Washabo Airstrip's relatively low elevation of 145 feet, planes can take off or land at Washabo Airstrip 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.