Nonstop flight route between Van Nuys, California, United States and Falkland Islands:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Van Nuys Airport (VNY), Van Nuys, California, United States and RAF Mount Pleasant (MPN), Falkland Islands would travel a Great Circle distance of 6,962 miles (or 11,204 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 Van Nuys 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 Van Nuys 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 Van Nuys Airport (VNY):

• The closest airport to Van Nuys Airport (VNY) is Whiteman Airport (WHP), which is located only 6 miles (9 kilometers) NE of VNY.
• The furthest airport from Van Nuys Airport (VNY) is Pierrefonds Airport (ZSE), which is located 11,472 miles (18,463 kilometers) away in Saint-Pierre, Réunion.
• Legend has it that Burbank Airport provided the setting for Humphrey Bogart's famous goodbye in the film Casablanca.
• Van Nuys Airport is the busiest general aviation airport in the world, and the 25th busiest airport in the world.
• Because of Van Nuys Airport's relatively low elevation of 802 feet, planes can take off or land at Van Nuys 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.
• Van Nuys Airport (VNY) has 2 runways.
• Most news helicopters from the Los Angeles area are based at Van Nuys Airport.

Facts about RAF Mount Pleasant (MPN):

• 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 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 closest airport to RAF Mount Pleasant (MPN) is Port Stanley Airport (PSY), which is located 30 miles (49 kilometers) ENE of MPN.
• 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.
• 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.
• 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.