Nonstop flight route between St Athan, Wales, United Kingdom and Ashgabat, Turkmenistan:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between MoD St Athan (DGX), St Athan, Wales, United Kingdom and Ashgabat International Airport (ASB), Ashgabat, Turkmenistan would travel a Great Circle distance of 3,074 miles (or 4,947 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 Ashgabat 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 Ashgabat 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):

• 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.
• 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.
• 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.
• 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.
• The base has been home to the RAF No.
• The MOD continued to negotiate the project with the Metrix Consortium, but the price rose several times, reaching £14 billion in mid-2009.
• The training to be carried out at St Athan was to be specialist phase 2 and phase 3 engineering courses of the Royal Navy, Army and Royal Air Force.
• 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 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.
• MoD St Athan (DGX) currently has only 1 runway.

Facts about Ashgabat International Airport (ASB):

• Because of Ashgabat International Airport's relatively low elevation of 692 feet, planes can take off or land at Ashgabat International 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.
• On 26 March 2014 a small passenger terminal was opened during a ceremony attended by the President Gurbanguly Berdimuhamedow.
• The closest airport to Ashgabat International Airport (ASB) is Bojnord Airport (BJB), which is located 67 miles (108 kilometers) WSW of ASB.
• In addition to being known as "Ashgabat International Airport", another name for ASB is "Saparmyrat Türkmenbaşy halkara aeroporty".
• The airport, with its air traffic control tower and a 12,000-foot long precision approach runway, opened in 1994 and was named after the country's first president, Saparmyrat Niyazov.
• Ashgabat International Airport (ASB) has 3 runways.
• The furthest airport from Ashgabat International Airport (ASB) is Mataveri International Airport (IPC), which is located 11,407 miles (18,357 kilometers) away in Easter Island, Chile.
• As part of Saparmurat Niyazov's aspiration to transform Turkmenistan into 'the new Kuwait', he sought to construct a distinctive airport.