Nonstop flight route between Rabaul, Papua New Guinea and Falkland Islands:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Rabaul Airport (RAB), Rabaul, Papua New Guinea and RAF Mount Pleasant (MPN), Falkland Islands would travel a Great Circle distance of 8,154 miles (or 13,123 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 Rabaul 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 Rabaul 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 Rabaul Airport (RAB):

• The airport resides at an elevation of 32 feet above mean sea level.
• In addition to being known as "Rabaul Airport", another name for RAB is "Tokua Airport".
• The furthest airport from Rabaul Airport (RAB) is Governador Carlos Wilson Airport (FEN), which is located 11,780 miles (18,959 kilometers) away in Fernando de Noronha, Pernambuco, Brazil.
• Rabaul Airport (RAB) currently has only 1 runway.
• Prior to the 1994 volcanic eruption that destroyed the town of Rabaul, the airport was located at the foot of Tavurvur volcano, near Matupit island.
• Because of Rabaul Airport's relatively low elevation of 32 feet, planes can take off or land at Rabaul 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 Rabaul Airport (RAB) is Namatanai Airport (ATN), which is located 47 miles (75 kilometers) N of RAB.

Facts about RAF Mount Pleasant (MPN):

• Flights of Phantoms were rotated through the airfield until 1992 when they were replaced with Tornado F3s.
• On 10 November 2011, it was announced that Prince William would be serving as a Sea King pilot on the station for six weeks during February and March 2012.
• Mount Pleasant was opened by Prince Andrew on 12 May 1985, becoming fully operational the following year.
• Flights are planned to Saint Helena when a new airport there opens in 2016.
• The closest airport to RAF Mount Pleasant (MPN) is Port Stanley Airport (PSY), which is located 30 miles (49 kilometers) ENE of 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.
• 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.