Nonstop flight route between Cortez, Colorado, United States and St Athan, Wales, United Kingdom:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Cortez Municipal Airport (CEZ), Cortez, Colorado, United States and MoD St Athan (DGX), St Athan, Wales, United Kingdom would travel a Great Circle distance of 4,830 miles (or 7,773 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 Cortez Municipal 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 Cortez Municipal 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 Cortez Municipal Airport (CEZ):

• Federal Aviation Administration records say the airport had 8,401 passenger boardings in calendar year 2008, 7,698 in 2009 and 6,342 in 2010.
• Cortez Municipal Airport (CEZ) currently has only 1 runway.
• Because of Cortez Municipal Airport's high elevation of 5,918 feet, planes must typically fly at a faster airspeed in order to takeoff or land at CEZ. Combined with a high temperature, this could make CEZ a "Hot & High" airport, where the air density is lower than it would otherwise be at sea level.
• Cortez Municipal Airport is three miles southwest of Cortez, in Montezuma County, Colorado.
• A Lockheed U-2 reconnaissance aircraft made an emergency nighttime forced landing August 3, 1959, at the Cortez Municipal Airport.
• The closest airport to Cortez Municipal Airport (CEZ) is Animas Air Park (AMK), which is located 42 miles (68 kilometers) E of CEZ.
• The furthest airport from Cortez Municipal Airport (CEZ) is Sir Gaëtan Duval Airport (RRG), which is located 11,132 miles (17,915 kilometers) away in Rodrigues Island, Mauritius.

Facts about MoD St Athan (DGX):

• In 2009 building work was due to commence on a new defence training academy with its heart at St Athan.
• 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 closest airport to MoD St Athan (DGX) is Cardiff Airport (CWL), which is located only 4 miles (6 kilometers) E of DGX.
• The last aircraft to be serviced at St Athan, a Vickers VC10, departed the site on 23 February 2012.
• The two cadet passengers were cousins and were named as Katie Jo Davies, 15, and Nikitta Walters, 14.
• 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.
• MoD St Athan (DGX) currently has only 1 runway.
• The new academy was claimed to create up to 5000 jobs at St Athan with a £14 billion investment over 25 years with an estimated £57.4 million spent into the local economy.
• 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.
• 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.