Nonstop flight route between Santa Monica, California, United States and Falkland Islands:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Santa Monica Airport (SMO), Santa Monica, California, United States and RAF Mount Pleasant (MPN), Falkland Islands would travel a Great Circle distance of 6,949 miles (or 11,184 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 Santa Monica 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 Santa Monica 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 Santa Monica Airport (SMO):

• The closest airport to Santa Monica Airport (SMO) is Los Angeles International Airport (LAX), which is located only 6 miles (9 kilometers) SSE of SMO.
• In addition to being known as "Santa Monica Airport", other names for SMO include "Santa Monica Municipal Airport" and "Clover Field".
• On May 19, 1938, at the request of Santa Monica Postmaster Philip T.
• In addition, there are numerous recommended noise abatement procedures and limitations that have been incorporated into the Airport’s Fly Neighborly Program and included in the program’s outreach materials.
• Santa Monica Airport (SMO) currently has only 1 runway.
• In 1958, Donald Douglas asked the city to lengthen the airport's runway so that Douglas Aircraft could produce and test the DC-8 there.
• As the Santa Monica Airport is one of relatively few general aviation airports in the nation that is surrounded on all sides by dense residential development, the City of Santa Monica aggressively enforces one of the most stringent noise ordinances in the nation.
• Because of Santa Monica Airport's relatively low elevation of 177 feet, planes can take off or land at Santa Monica 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 furthest airport from Santa Monica Airport (SMO) is Pierrefonds Airport (ZSE), which is located 11,484 miles (18,481 kilometers) away in Saint-Pierre, Réunion.

Facts about RAF Mount Pleasant (MPN):

• 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.
• 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.
• Currently located at Mount Pleasant are No.
• 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.
• Flights of Phantoms were rotated through the airfield until 1992 when they were replaced with Tornado F3s.
• The closest airport to RAF Mount Pleasant (MPN) is Port Stanley Airport (PSY), which is located 30 miles (49 kilometers) ENE of MPN.