Nonstop flight route between Falkland Islands and Bella Bella, British Columbia, Canada:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between RAF Mount Pleasant (MPN), Falkland Islands and Bella Bella/Shearwater Water Aerodrome (YSX), Bella Bella, British Columbia, Canada would travel a Great Circle distance of 8,240 miles (or 13,261 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 Bella Bella/Shearwater Water Aerodrome, 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 Bella Bella/Shearwater Water Aerodrome. 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.
• 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 closest airport to RAF Mount Pleasant (MPN) is Port Stanley Airport (PSY), which is located 30 miles (49 kilometers) ENE of MPN.
• Mount Pleasant was opened by Prince Andrew on 12 May 1985, becoming fully operational the following year.
• 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.
• Flights are planned to Saint Helena when a new airport there opens in 2016.
• 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.
• Flights of Phantoms were rotated through the airfield until 1992 when they were replaced with Tornado F3s.

Facts about Bella Bella/Shearwater Water Aerodrome (YSX):

• The furthest airport from Bella Bella/Shearwater Water Aerodrome (YSX) is East London Airport (ELS), which is located 10,652 miles (17,142 kilometers) away in East London, South Africa.
• In addition to being known as "Bella Bella/Shearwater Water Aerodrome", another name for YSX is "CAW8".
• Because of Bella Bella/Shearwater Water Aerodrome's relatively low elevation of 0 feet, planes can take off or land at Bella Bella/Shearwater Water Aerodrome 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.
• The closest airport to Bella Bella/Shearwater Water Aerodrome (YSX) is Bella Bella (Campbell Island) Airport (ZEL), which is located only 4 miles (6 kilometers) NW of YSX.