Nonstop flight route between Rajkot, India and Falkland Islands:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Rajkot Airport (RAJ), Rajkot, India and RAF Mount Pleasant (MPN), Falkland Islands would travel a Great Circle distance of 9,072 miles (or 14,600 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 Rajkot 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 Rajkot 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 Rajkot Airport (RAJ):

• In addition to being known as "Rajkot Airport", another name for RAJ is "રાજકોટ વિમાનમથક".
• The authorities have finalised the site for the first ever international airport in Saurashtra, which will be located near Rajkot.
• The furthest airport from Rajkot Airport (RAJ) is Mataveri International Airport (IPC), which is nearly antipodal to Rajkot Airport (meaning Rajkot Airport is almost on the exact opposite side of the Earth from Mataveri International Airport), and is located 12,101 miles (19,475 kilometers) away in Easter Island, Chile.
• Rajkot Airport (RAJ) currently has only 1 runway.
• The closest airport to Rajkot Airport (RAJ) is Jamnagar Airport (JGA), which is located 50 miles (81 kilometers) WNW of RAJ.
• Because of Rajkot Airport's relatively low elevation of 441 feet, planes can take off or land at Rajkot 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.

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.
• A flight of Westland Sea King helicopters for support and search and rescue has been located at Mount Pleasant since November 2007.
• The closest airport to RAF Mount Pleasant (MPN) is Port Stanley Airport (PSY), which is located 30 miles (49 kilometers) ENE of MPN.
• 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.