Nonstop flight route between St Athan, Wales, United Kingdom and Belo sur Tsiribihina, Madagascar:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between MoD St Athan (DGX), St Athan, Wales, United Kingdom and Belo sur Tsiribihina Airport (BMD), Belo sur Tsiribihina, Madagascar would travel a Great Circle distance of 5,703 miles (or 9,178 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 Belo sur Tsiribihina 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 Belo sur Tsiribihina 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 last aircraft to be serviced at St Athan, a Vickers VC10, departed the site on 23 February 2012.
• The base has been home to the RAF No.
• 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.
• 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.
• RAF St Athan was also home for the Royal Air Force Administrative Apprentice Training School.
• The MOD continued to negotiate the project with the Metrix Consortium, but the price rose several times, reaching £14 billion in mid-2009.
• During the 1960s, a driving school was established.
• 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.
• 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.

Facts about Belo sur Tsiribihina Airport (BMD):

• The furthest airport from Belo sur Tsiribihina Airport (BMD) is Hilo International Airport (ITO), which is located 11,163 miles (17,965 kilometers) away in Hilo, Hawaii, United States.
• The closest airport to Belo sur Tsiribihina Airport (BMD) is Miandrivazo Airport (ZVA), which is located 60 miles (96 kilometers) E of BMD.
• Because of Belo sur Tsiribihina Airport's relatively low elevation of 154 feet, planes can take off or land at Belo sur Tsiribihina 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.