Nonstop flight route between Ko Samui, Surat Thani, Thailand and Falkland Islands:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Samui International Airport (USM), Ko Samui, Surat Thani, Thailand and RAF Mount Pleasant (MPN), Falkland Islands would travel a Great Circle distance of 9,274 miles (or 14,926 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 Samui International 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 Samui International 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 Samui International Airport (USM):

• In addition to being known as "Samui International Airport", another name for USM is "ท่าอากาศยานสมุย".
• The closest airport to Samui International Airport (USM) is Surat Thani International Airport (URT), which is located 69 miles (112 kilometers) WSW of USM.
• Samui International Airport (USM) currently has only 1 runway.
• The furthest airport from Samui International Airport (USM) is Teniente FAP Jaime Montreuil Morales Airport (CHM), which is nearly antipodal to Samui International Airport (meaning Samui International Airport is almost on the exact opposite side of the Earth from Teniente FAP Jaime Montreuil Morales Airport), and is located 12,337 miles (19,854 kilometers) away in Chimbote, Ancash Region, Peru.
• Because of Samui International Airport's relatively low elevation of 64 feet, planes can take off or land at Samui International 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.
• 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.
• 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.
• A flight of Westland Sea King helicopters for support and search and rescue has been located at Mount Pleasant since November 2007.
• 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.
• 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.
• RAF Mount Pleasant is the newest permanent airfield in the Royal Air Force.