Nonstop flight route between Phoenix, Arizona, United States and St Athan, Wales, United Kingdom:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Phoenix–Mesa Gateway Airport (AZA), Phoenix, Arizona, United States and MoD St Athan (DGX), St Athan, Wales, United Kingdom would travel a Great Circle distance of 5,152 miles (or 8,291 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 Phoenix–Mesa Gateway 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 Phoenix–Mesa Gateway 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 Phoenix–Mesa Gateway Airport (AZA):

• Due to the changing market, phase two, three and four are likely to change.
• A six-member airport Board of Directors is composed of elected officials from neighboring cities and a tribal government.
• In recent years, the airport has again become a center of flight training.
• The furthest airport from Phoenix–Mesa Gateway Airport (AZA) is Sir Gaëtan Duval Airport (RRG), which is located 11,452 miles (18,429 kilometers) away in Rodrigues Island, Mauritius.
• One of the biggest issues at IWA is the increase in passengers since Allegiant Air started operations.
• The closest airport to Phoenix–Mesa Gateway Airport (AZA) is Falcon Field (MSC), which is located only 11 miles (18 kilometers) NNW of AZA.
• Phoenix–Mesa Gateway Airport, formerly Williams Gateway Airport and Williams Air Force Base, is in the southeastern area of Mesa, Arizona, and 20 miles southeast of Phoenix, in Maricopa County, Arizona.
• In addition to being known as "Phoenix–Mesa Gateway Airport", another name for AZA is "IWA".
• Phoenix–Mesa Gateway Airport (AZA) has 3 runways.

Facts about MoD St Athan (DGX):

• In March 2003 it was confirmed that a new hi-tech maintenance centre would be built, creating 3,300 jobs.
• 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 is a large Ministry of Defence unit near the village of St Athan in the Vale of Glamorgan, southern Wales.
• 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.
• MoD St Athan (DGX) currently has only 1 runway.
• After the war, airmen of the Airframe and Engine trades continued to train at St Athan, but in 1955 this training dispersed to RAF Kirkham and RAF Weeton.
• 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.
• The MOD later decided that DARA's 'Fast Jets' and 'Engines' businesses would close by April 2007, although the 'Large Aircraft' business would continue and, on 14 April 2005, the Project Red Dragon super-hangar opened and DARA moved its VC10 operations from its existing 'Twin Peaks' hangar into the new facility.
• The MOD continued to negotiate the project with the Metrix Consortium, but the price rose several times, reaching £14 billion in mid-2009.