Nonstop flight route between St Athan, Wales, United Kingdom and Aranuka, Kiribati:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between MoD St Athan (DGX), St Athan, Wales, United Kingdom and Aranuka Airport (AAK), Aranuka, Kiribati would travel a Great Circle distance of 8,868 miles (or 14,272 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 Aranuka 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 Aranuka 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 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.
• The base has been home to the RAF No.
• MOD St Athan is a large Ministry of Defence unit near the village of St Athan in the Vale of Glamorgan, southern Wales.
• 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.
• Just before 1100 GMT on 11 February 2009, two Grob Tutor aircraft flying out of St Athan were involved in a mid-air collision in which two Air Training Corps cadets and their instructors, both RAF pilots, died.
• 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.
• MoD St Athan (DGX) currently has only 1 runway.
• 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.
• In 2006, the Special Forces Support Group was raised at St Athan and the Welsh Guards returned to London.

Facts about Aranuka Airport (AAK):

• The furthest airport from Aranuka Airport (AAK) is Cape Palmas Airport (CPA), which is nearly antipodal to Aranuka Airport (meaning Aranuka Airport is almost on the exact opposite side of the Earth from Cape Palmas Airport), and is located 12,108 miles (19,486 kilometers) away in Cape Palmas, Liberia.
• The closest airport to Aranuka Airport (AAK) is Abemama Atoll Airport (AEA), which is located 25 miles (40 kilometers) NNE of AAK.
• Because of Aranuka Airport's relatively low elevation of 6 feet, planes can take off or land at Aranuka 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.