Nonstop flight route between Falkland Islands and Arxan, Inner Mongolia, China:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between RAF Mount Pleasant (MPN), Falkland Islands and Arxan Yi'ershi Airport (YIE), Arxan, Inner Mongolia, China would travel a Great Circle distance of 12,117 miles (or 19,500 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 Arxan Yi'ershi 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 Arxan Yi'ershi Airport. You'll see that it will travel the same route of the red line on this map!

The distance between MPN and YIE makes them almost exactly antipodal (the exact opposite side of the world) to each other. Nonstop flights between RAF Mount Pleasant and Arxan Yi'ershi Airport would be very impractical for the airlines, because only a lightly loaded Boeing 777-200LR would be able to make the trip. Since airlines need to be able to take as many people and cargo as possible in order to make a profit, the odds of ever seeing a nonstop flight between MPN and YIE are slim to none. However, you'll still be able to get from Falkland Islands and Arxan, Inner Mongolia, China by taking some connecting flights!

Did you know that one full circling of the Earth (measuring from the equator) is about 24,901.5 miles (or 40,075 kilometers), which means if you were 12,450 miles from any given point on the planet, the distance back to your starting point would be about the same -- in any direction! The same can be said for a nonstop flight between MPN and YIE!

Departure Airport Information:

Arrival Airport Information:

Facts about RAF Mount Pleasant (MPN):

• 33 Engineer Regiment provides constant support and is part of the Joint Service Falkland Islands Detachment which consists of RAF and RLC EOD teams.
• 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.
• 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.
• 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.

Facts about Arxan Yi'ershi Airport (YIE):

• Arxan Yi'ershi Airport (YIE) currently has only 1 runway.
• The furthest airport from Arxan Yi'ershi Airport (YIE) is Puerto Deseado Airport (PUD), which is nearly antipodal to Arxan Yi'ershi Airport (meaning Arxan Yi'ershi Airport is almost on the exact opposite side of the Earth from Puerto Deseado Airport), and is located 12,164 miles (19,576 kilometers) away in Puerto Deseado, Santa Cruz Province, Argentina.
• The closest airport to Arxan Yi'ershi Airport (YIE) is Ulanhot Airport (HLH), which is located 126 miles (202 kilometers) SE of YIE.
• In addition to being known as "Arxan Yi'ershi Airport", other names for YIE include "阿尔山伊尔施机场", "Ā'ěrshān Yī'ěrshī Jīchǎng" and "ZBES".