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

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between MoD St Athan (DGX), St Athan, Wales, United Kingdom and Anaa Airport (AAA), Anaa, Tuamotus, French Polynesia 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 MoD St Athan and Anaa Airport, 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 MoD St Athan and Anaa Airport. 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 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.
• 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.
• On 26 August 1993 an ATC civilian instructor was seriously injured and the RAF Volunteer Reserve pilot, Group Captain Roger Sweatman, was killed when their Chipmunk trainer, on an air experience flight, crashed after encountering difficulties during a simulated emergency low-height manoeuvre on take-off.
• In 2006, the Special Forces Support Group was raised at St Athan and the Welsh Guards returned to London.
• 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.
• 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.

Facts about Anaa Airport (AAA):

• Anaa Airport (AAA) currently has only 1 runway.
• The closest airport to Anaa Airport (AAA) is Fakarava Airport (FAV), which is located 90 miles (145 kilometers) N of AAA.
• 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.
• 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".