Nonstop flight route between Ratmalana, Sri Lanka and Falkland Islands:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Ratmalana Airport (RML), Ratmalana, Sri Lanka and RAF Mount Pleasant (MPN), Falkland Islands would travel a Great Circle distance of 8,533 miles (or 13,732 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 Ratmalana 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 Ratmalana 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 Ratmalana Airport (RML):

• The closest airport to Ratmalana Airport (RML) is Bandaranaike International Airport (CMB), which is located 25 miles (40 kilometers) N of RML.
• In the 1950s, BOAC flew Canadair Argonauts from Ratmalana to London.
• In addition to being known as "Ratmalana Airport", another name for RML is "රත්මලාන ගුවන්තොටුපළஇரத்மலானை விமான நிலைய".
• There are currently 2 terminals at the airport.
• Because of Ratmalana Airport's relatively low elevation of 16 feet, planes can take off or land at Ratmalana 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.
• Ratmalana Airport (RML) currently has only 1 runway.
• In 1964, the government decided to build the new Bandaranaike International Airport north of the city, to replace Ratmalana.
• The furthest airport from Ratmalana Airport (RML) is Seymour Airport (GPS), which is located 11,628 miles (18,713 kilometers) away in Baltra Island, Galápagos Islands, Ecuador.
• Ratmalana airport was declared open for small international commercial flights.

Facts about RAF Mount Pleasant (MPN):

• Mount Pleasant was opened by Prince Andrew on 12 May 1985, becoming fully operational the following year.
• 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.
• 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.
• 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.
• Flights are planned to Saint Helena when a new airport there opens in 2016.
• Flights of Phantoms were rotated through the airfield until 1992 when they were replaced with Tornado F3s.
• 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.