Nonstop flight route between Great Falls, Montana, United States and St Athan, Wales, United Kingdom:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Great Falls International Airport (GTF), Great Falls, Montana, United States and MoD St Athan (DGX), St Athan, Wales, United Kingdom would travel a Great Circle distance of 4,387 miles (or 7,060 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 Great Falls International Airport and MoD St Athan, 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 Great Falls International Airport and MoD St Athan. 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 Great Falls International Airport (GTF):

• In early 2012 Frontier Airlines announced new flights to Great Falls from the Denver hub.
• Great Falls International Airport is home to Great Falls Air National Guard Base and the Montana Air National Guard's 120th Fighter Wing, the "Vigilantes." An Air National Guard unit operationally-gained by the Air Combat Command, the 120 FW transitioned from the F-16C Fighting Falcon to the F-15C Eagle in January 2009, which it employs in the air defense and air dominance missions.
• Great Falls International Airport (GTF) has 3 runways.
• In 1975 the terminal was replaced and all runways, aprons, and taxiways updated.
• The closest airport to Great Falls International Airport (GTF) is Malmstrom Air Force Base (GFA), which is located only 9 miles (14 kilometers) E of GTF.
• The furthest airport from Great Falls International Airport (GTF) is Sir Gaëtan Duval Airport (RRG), which is located 10,498 miles (16,896 kilometers) away in Rodrigues Island, Mauritius.
• In 2011 the airport recorded the most boardings in its history.
• In addition to being known as "Great Falls International Airport", another name for GTF is "(former Great Falls Army Airfield)".

Facts about MoD St Athan (DGX):

• The closest airport to MoD St Athan (DGX) is Cardiff Airport (CWL), which is located only 4 miles (6 kilometers) E of DGX.
• MoD St Athan (DGX) currently has only 1 runway.
• RAF St Athan was also home for the Royal Air Force Administrative Apprentice Training School.
• The furthest airport from MoD St Athan (DGX) is Dunedin International Airport (DUD), which is located 11,960 miles (19,248 kilometers) away in Dunedin, Otago, New Zealand.
• In March 2004, however, DARA announced the loss of 550 jobs at St Athan as part of streamlining to make DARA more efficient and better able to compete with the private sector for lucrative aircraft repair contracts, but also because they lost out to a direct RAF bid for a contract to upgrade the air force's fleet of ageing Harrier jump jet aircraft.
• The MOD continued to negotiate the project with the Metrix Consortium, but the price rose several times, reaching £14 billion in mid-2009.
• Because of MoD St Athan's relatively low elevation of 163 feet, planes can take off or land at MoD St Athan 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.