Nonstop flight route between Punta Gorda, Florida, United States and Falkland Islands:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Punta Gorda Airport (PGD), Punta Gorda, Florida, United States and RAF Mount Pleasant (MPN), Falkland Islands would travel a Great Circle distance of 5,625 miles (or 9,052 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 Punta Gorda Airport 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 Punta Gorda Airport 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 Punta Gorda Airport (PGD):

• The base initially had forty Curtis P-40 Warhawks assigned, later transitioning to the North American P-51 Mustang.
• In 2010 enplanements only totaled 90,240, making PGD the least used airport in Florida by scheduled airline passengers.
• The furthest airport from Punta Gorda Airport (PGD) is Shark Bay Airport (MJK), which is located 11,471 miles (18,461 kilometers) away in Monkey Mia, Western Australia, Australia.
• In addition to being known as "Punta Gorda Airport", another name for PGD is "(Formerly Charlotte County Airport)".
• Vision Airlines and Direct Air ended all service to PGD in 2012.
• Punta Gorda Airport handled 149,141 passengers last year.
• Punta Gorda Airport (PGD) has 3 runways.
• Punta Gorda Airport covers 1,934 acres at an elevation of 26 feet.
• The airport saw no large airlines after the early 1980s in the aftermath of the Airline Deregulation Act of 1978.
• Because of Punta Gorda Airport's relatively low elevation of 26 feet, planes can take off or land at Punta Gorda 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.
• The closest airport to Punta Gorda Airport (PGD) is Page Field (FMY), which is located 24 miles (39 kilometers) SSE of PGD.

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.
• Flights are planned to Saint Helena when a new airport there opens in 2016.
• Using the IATA airport code MPN, RAF Mount Pleasant also acts as the Falkland Islands' only international airport, along with its military role.
• 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.
• RAF Mount Pleasant has a wide range of social and sporting facilities including a gym, swimming pool, golf course, diving centre, karting, laserquest, library, cinema, bowling, climbing wall and indoor and outdoor sports pitches.
• The closest airport to RAF Mount Pleasant (MPN) is Port Stanley Airport (PSY), which is located 30 miles (49 kilometers) ENE of MPN.