Nonstop flight route between St Athan, Wales, United Kingdom and Bengbu, Anhui, China:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between MoD St Athan (DGX), St Athan, Wales, United Kingdom and Bengbu Airport (BFU), Bengbu, Anhui, China would travel a Great Circle distance of 5,599 miles (or 9,010 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 Bengbu 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 Bengbu 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):

• MoD St Athan (DGX) currently has only 1 runway.
• 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.
• In 2009 building work was due to commence on a new defence training academy with its heart at St Athan.
• After the war, airmen of the Airframe and Engine trades continued to train at St Athan, but in 1955 this training dispersed to RAF Kirkham and RAF Weeton.
• 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.
• 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 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.
• The MOD continued to negotiate the project with the Metrix Consortium, but the price rose several times, reaching £14 billion in mid-2009.
• 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.

Facts about Bengbu Airport (BFU):

• In addition to being known as "Bengbu Airport", other names for BFU include "蚌埠机场" and "Bèngbù Jīchǎng".
• The closest airport to Bengbu Airport (BFU) is Hefei Luogang International Airport (HFE), which is located 74 miles (119 kilometers) S of BFU.
• The furthest airport from Bengbu Airport (BFU) is Rosario – Islas Malvinas International Airport (ROS), which is nearly antipodal to Bengbu Airport (meaning Bengbu Airport is almost on the exact opposite side of the Earth from Rosario – Islas Malvinas International Airport), and is located 12,327 miles (19,838 kilometers) away in Rosario, Argentina.
• In 1997, land acquisition for the new airport started, and in May 1998, 4030 mu of land near Renheji village in Qinji Township was dedicated for the new airport.