Nonstop flight route between Masterton, New Zealand and Falkland Islands:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Hood Aerodrome (MRO), Masterton, New Zealand and RAF Mount Pleasant (MPN), Falkland Islands would travel a Great Circle distance of 5,252 miles (or 8,452 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 Hood Aerodrome and RAF Mount Pleasant, 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 Hood Aerodrome and RAF Mount Pleasant. 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 Hood Aerodrome (MRO):

• The aerodrome is also been used as a dragstrip for over ten years and there are plans to build a purpose built dragstrip.
• The furthest airport from Hood Aerodrome (MRO) is Adolfo Suárez Madrid–Barajas Airport[1] (MAD), which is nearly antipodal to Hood Aerodrome (meaning Hood Aerodrome is almost on the exact opposite side of the Earth from Adolfo Suárez Madrid–Barajas Airport[1]), and is located 12,382 miles (19,927 kilometers) away in Madrid, Spain.
• Historically, Hood Aerodrome has been served by South Pacific Airlines of New Zealand in 1962–1966 and two locally-based carriers, Wairarapa Airlines which linked Masterton with Auckland, Hamilton, Rotorua, Nelson and Christchurch from August 1981 to January 1997.
• Hood Aerodrome is an aerodrome, located in southern urban area of Masterton, New Zealand it is only 1 NM South West from the town centre on South Road in Solway.
• The closest airport to Hood Aerodrome (MRO) is Kapiti Coast Airport (PPQ), which is located 34 miles (55 kilometers) W of MRO.
• Hood Aerodrome (MRO) has 4 runways.
• Because of Hood Aerodrome's relatively low elevation of 364 feet, planes can take off or land at Hood 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.

Facts about RAF Mount Pleasant (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.
• 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.
• 33 Engineer Regiment provides constant support and is part of the Joint Service Falkland Islands Detachment which consists of RAF and RLC EOD teams.
• On 2 March 2012, the Argentinian President Cristina Fernández de Kirchner called for Aerolineas Argentinas flights to Buenos Aires to replace LAN Airlines flights to Chile.
• Using the IATA airport code MPN, RAF Mount Pleasant also acts as the Falkland Islands' only international airport, along with its military role.
• 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.
• 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.
• RAF Mount Pleasant is the newest permanent airfield in the Royal Air Force.