Nonstop flight route between Washabo, Suriname and Falkland Islands:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Washabo Airstrip (WSO), Washabo, Suriname and RAF Mount Pleasant (MPN), Falkland Islands would travel a Great Circle distance of 3,944 miles (or 6,347 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 Washabo Airstrip 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 Washabo Airstrip 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 Washabo Airstrip (WSO):

• In addition to being known as "Washabo Airstrip", another name for WSO is "SMWS".
• The closest airport to Washabo Airstrip (WSO) is Majoor Henry Fernandes Airport (ICK), which is located 50 miles (80 kilometers) N of WSO.
• Because of Washabo Airstrip's relatively low elevation of 145 feet, planes can take off or land at Washabo Airstrip 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 Washabo Airstrip (WSO) is Betoambari Airport (BUW), which is nearly antipodal to Washabo Airstrip (meaning Washabo Airstrip is almost on the exact opposite side of the Earth from Betoambari Airport), and is located 12,413 miles (19,976 kilometers) away in Bau-Bau, Buton, Indonesia.

Facts about RAF Mount Pleasant (MPN):

• 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.
• Using the IATA airport code MPN, RAF Mount Pleasant also acts as the Falkland Islands' only international airport, along with its military role.
• The closest airport to RAF Mount Pleasant (MPN) is Port Stanley Airport (PSY), which is located 30 miles (49 kilometers) ENE of MPN.
• 33 Engineer Regiment provides constant support and is part of the Joint Service Falkland Islands Detachment which consists of RAF and RLC EOD teams.
• 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 are planned to Saint Helena when a new airport there opens in 2016.
• Flights of Phantoms were rotated through the airfield until 1992 when they were replaced with Tornado F3s.
• 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.