Nonstop flight route between St Athan, Wales, United Kingdom and Almaty, Kazakhstan:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between MoD St Athan (DGX), St Athan, Wales, United Kingdom and Almaty International Airport (ALA), Almaty, Kazakhstan would travel a Great Circle distance of 3,613 miles (or 5,815 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 Almaty International 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 Almaty International 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):

• During the 1960s, a driving school was established.
• The base has been home to the RAF No.
• In 2006, the Special Forces Support Group was raised at St Athan and the Welsh Guards returned to London.
• 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 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.
• St Athan also became the major RAF maintenance base for Vulcan, Victor, Buccaner, Phantom, Harrier, Tornado, Jaguar, Hawk and VC10 aircraft, originally under direct RAF control, but latterly under the auspices of the Defence Aviation Repair Agency.
• 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 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 (DGX) currently has only 1 runway.
• The last aircraft to be serviced at St Athan, a Vickers VC10, departed the site on 23 February 2012.
• In March 2003 it was confirmed that a new hi-tech maintenance centre would be built, creating 3,300 jobs.

Facts about Almaty International Airport (ALA):

• On 9 July 1999 a fire started in the shashlik kitchen of the airport restaurant.
• The furthest airport from Almaty International Airport (ALA) is Mataveri International Airport (IPC), which is located 11,261 miles (18,123 kilometers) away in Easter Island, Chile.
• Almaty International Airport (ALA) has 2 runways.
• The closest airport to Almaty International Airport (ALA) is Manas International Airport (FRU), which is located 131 miles (211 kilometers) W of ALA.
• The supersonic transport Tupolev Tu-144 went into service on 26 December 1975, flying mail and freight between Moscow and Alma-Ata in preparation for passenger services, which commenced in November 1977.
• In addition to being known as "Almaty International Airport", other names for ALA include "Халықаралық Алматы Әуежайы" and "Международный Аэропорт Алматы".