Nonstop flight route between Anaa, Tuamotus, French Polynesia and St Athan, Wales, United Kingdom:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Anaa Airport (AAA), Anaa, Tuamotus, French Polynesia and MoD St Athan (DGX), St Athan, Wales, United Kingdom would travel a Great Circle distance of 9,303 miles (or 14,972 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 Anaa 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 Anaa 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 Anaa Airport (AAA):

• Because of Anaa Airport's relatively low elevation of 10 feet, planes can take off or land at Anaa 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.
• In addition to being known as "Anaa Airport", another name for AAA is "Aérodrome de Anna".
• Anaa Airport (AAA) currently has only 1 runway.
• The furthest airport from Anaa Airport (AAA) is Atbara Airport (ATB), which is nearly antipodal to Anaa Airport (meaning Anaa Airport is almost on the exact opposite side of the Earth from Atbara Airport), and is located 12,399 miles (19,954 kilometers) away in Atbara, Sudan.
• The closest airport to Anaa Airport (AAA) is Fakarava Airport (FAV), which is located 90 miles (145 kilometers) N of AAA.

Facts about MoD St Athan (DGX):

• MoD St Athan (DGX) currently has only 1 runway.
• 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.
• RAF St Athan has been used to house a number of army units throughout its life and, in 2003, the 1st Battalion, Welsh Guards moved from Aldershot to St Athan - the first time they have been based in Wales since they were formed in 1915.
• The MOD continued to negotiate the project with the Metrix Consortium, but the price rose several times, reaching £14 billion in mid-2009.
• The only squadrons to operate out of St Athan on a regular basis are the University of Wales Air Squadron, flying Grob Tutors and No 634 Volunteer Gliding Squadron using Vigilant T.1s.
• The closest airport to MoD St Athan (DGX) is Cardiff Airport (CWL), which is located only 4 miles (6 kilometers) E of DGX.
• 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.
• During the war a dummy airfield was built using wood and cardboard a few miles west of the original airfield and successful efforts were made to hide the proper field.
• The station officially opened as RAF St Athan on 1 September 1938 and the first unit to take up residence was No 4 School of Technical Training.