Nonstop flight route between Nakashibetsu, Japan and Falkland Islands:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Nakashibetsu Airport (SHB), Nakashibetsu, Japan and RAF Mount Pleasant (MPN), Falkland Islands would travel a Great Circle distance of 11,216 miles (or 18,050 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 Nakashibetsu 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 Nakashibetsu 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 Nakashibetsu Airport (SHB):

• In addition to being known as "Nakashibetsu Airport", another name for SHB is "中標津空港".
• The furthest airport from Nakashibetsu Airport (SHB) is Port Stanley Airport (PSY), which is located 11,246 miles (18,099 kilometers) away in Stanley, Falkland Islands, United Kingdom.
• Nakashibetsu Airport (SHB) currently has only 1 runway.
• The closest airport to Nakashibetsu Airport (SHB) is Memanbetsu Airport (MMB), which is located 45 miles (72 kilometers) WNW of SHB.
• Nakashibetsu Airport is an airport located 2 NM from Nakashibetsu, Hokkaidō, Japan.
• In 2011, the Hokkaido government announced that landing fees would be waived for international charter flights using the airport in an attempt to lure more overseas tourists to the region.
• Because of Nakashibetsu Airport's relatively low elevation of 214 feet, planes can take off or land at Nakashibetsu 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):

• Flights are planned to Saint Helena when a new airport there opens in 2016.
• RAF Mount Pleasant is a Royal Air Force station in the British Overseas Territory of the Falkland Islands.
• The closest airport to RAF Mount Pleasant (MPN) is Port Stanley Airport (PSY), which is located 30 miles (49 kilometers) ENE of MPN.
• A flight of Westland Sea King helicopters for support and search and rescue has been located at Mount Pleasant since November 2007.
• RAF Mount Pleasant is the newest permanent airfield in the Royal Air Force.
• 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 of Phantoms were rotated through the airfield until 1992 when they were replaced with Tornado F3s.
• On 2 April 2012, an Uruguayan air company, Air Class Líneas Aéreas, gained permission from the Uruguayan Ministry of Defence to start a commercial flight to the Falkland Islands.
• 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.
• 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.
• Using the IATA airport code MPN, RAF Mount Pleasant also acts as the Falkland Islands' only international airport, along with its military role.