Nonstop flight route between Salinas, Ecuador and Falkland Islands:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between General Ulpiano Paez Airport (SNC), Salinas, Ecuador and RAF Mount Pleasant (MPN), Falkland Islands would travel a Great Circle distance of 3,667 miles (or 5,902 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 General Ulpiano Paez 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 General Ulpiano Paez 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 General Ulpiano Paez Airport (SNC):

• General Ulpiano Paez Airport (SNC) has 2 runways.
• The furthest airport from General Ulpiano Paez Airport (SNC) is Aek Godang Airport (AEG), which is nearly antipodal to General Ulpiano Paez Airport (meaning General Ulpiano Paez Airport is almost on the exact opposite side of the Earth from Aek Godang Airport), and is located 12,374 miles (19,914 kilometers) away in Padang Sidempuan, Indonesia.
• The closest airport to General Ulpiano Paez Airport (SNC) is José Joaquín de Olmedo International Airport (GYE), which is located 76 miles (123 kilometers) E of SNC.
• In addition to being known as "General Ulpiano Paez Airport", another name for SNC is "Aeropuerto General Ulpiano Paez".
• Because of General Ulpiano Paez Airport's relatively low elevation of 18 feet, planes can take off or land at General Ulpiano Paez 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.
• 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.
• 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.
• Flights of Phantoms were rotated through the airfield until 1992 when they were replaced with Tornado F3s.
• 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.