Falkland Islands 2

Falkland Islands

Stanley has two taxi services which can be used for travel within the town and the surrounding areas. A variety of four-wheel drive vehicles can be hired in Stanley, which are essential for travel along unpaved roads that are potentially badly potholed. A bus service ferries passengers between the main airport for international flights at Mount Pleasant and Stanley. Bicycles can also be hired, though because of the unsealed roads and hilly terrain, these are more suitable for use around the Stanley area.

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Stanley HarbourThere are two seaports in the Falkland Islands, Stanley (East Falkland) and Fox Bay (West Falkland). The designated harbors in Stanley area include Berkeley SoundPort William and Stanley Harbour itself. Fox Bay is also a customs entry point for West Falkland. The Falkland Islands do not have a merchant navy.

Since November 2008, a regular ferry service has linked the two main islands, carrying cars, passengers and cargo. The ferry, MV Concordia Bay, a 42.45 m twin-screw shallow draft (2.59 m) landing craft runs between Port Howard in West Falkland and New Haven in East Falkland. She has a deck, 30 m in length and 10 m in width which is sufficient for 16 one-ten Land Rovers (or equivalent) and accommodation for 30 passengers. She also has a crane that is capable of lifting 10 tons at 7 m. She also visits some of the smaller islands.

Other smaller boats may be chartered in advance.

Tourist cruise ships often visit many of the islands, making use of inflatable boats where adequate docking facilities are not available.

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BN-2B Islander VP-FBD operated by the Falkland Islands Government Air Service, Stanley

The Falkland Islands have two airports with paved runways. The main international airport is RAF Mount Pleasant, 27 miles (43 km) west of Stanley. LAN Airlines operate weekly flights to Punta Arenas. Once a month, this flight also stops in Río Gallegos, Argentina.

The Royal Air Force operates flights from RAF Mount Pleasant to RAF Brize Norton in Oxfordshire, England, with a refueling stop at DakarSenegal, because the runway at RAF Ascension Island is closed until at least 2019. This service is called the South Atlantic Airbridge.

As of 2011 Titan Airways operates the RAF air link, using Boeing 767sBritish International (BRINTEL) also operate two Sikorsky S61N helicopters, based at RAF Mount Pleasant, under contract to the United Kingdom Ministry of Defence, primarily for moving military personnel, equipment and supplies around the islands.

The smaller Port Stanley Airport, outside the city, is used mainly for internal flights. The Falkland Islands Government Air Service (FIGAS) operates Islander aircraft that can use the grass airstrips that most settlements have. Flight schedules are decided a day in advance according to passenger needs and the next day’s timetable is published every evening. The schedules are based on three routes – a Northern Shuttle and the Southern Shuttle that each have one flight a day and the East – West Shuttle that has a morning and an evening flight every day.

The British Antarctic Survey operates a transcontinental air link between Port Stanley Airport and the Rothera Research Station on the Antarctic Peninsula and servicing also other British bases in the British Antarctic Territory using a de Havilland Canada Dash 7.

Flag of the Falkland Islands:

The current flag of the Falkland Islands was adopted on 25 January 1999 and consists of a defaced Blue Ensign, with the Union Flag in the canton and the Falkland Islands coat-of-arms in the fly.

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