Nonstop flight route between St Athan, Wales, United Kingdom and São Paulo, Brazil:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between MoD St Athan (DGX), St Athan, Wales, United Kingdom and São Paulo/Congonhas Airport (CGH), São Paulo, Brazil would travel a Great Circle distance of 5,809 miles (or 9,348 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 São Paulo/Congonhas 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 São Paulo/Congonhas 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 war a dummy airfield was built using wood and cardboard a few miles west of the original airfield and successful efforts were made to hide the proper field.
• 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.
• 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 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.
• 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 last aircraft to be serviced at St Athan, a Vickers VC10, departed the site on 23 February 2012.

Facts about São Paulo/Congonhas Airport (CGH):

• Since the opening of Guarulhos Airport in 1985, international flights no longer operate from Congonhas, and domestic operations have undergone restrictions.
• The closest airport to São Paulo/Congonhas Airport (CGH) is São Paulo/Guarulhos–Governador André Franco Montoro International Airport (GRU), which is located only 18 miles (28 kilometers) NE of CGH.
• The airport was initially planned in 1919, but it did not open until 12 April 1936.
• In addition to being known as "São Paulo/Congonhas Airport", another name for CGH is "Aeroporto de São Paulo/Congonhas".
• The furthest airport from São Paulo/Congonhas Airport (CGH) is Minami-Daito Airport (MMD), which is nearly antipodal to São Paulo/Congonhas Airport (meaning São Paulo/Congonhas Airport is almost on the exact opposite side of the Earth from Minami-Daito Airport), and is located 12,235 miles (19,691 kilometers) away in Minami Daito, Okinawa, Japan.
• Azul Brazilian Airlines offers for its passengers free bus transfers between Congonhas and Campinas-Viracopos International Airport at regular times.
• São Paulo/Congonhas Airport handled 17,119,530 passengers last year.
• Congonhas has slot restrictions operating with a maximum of 30 operations/hour, being one of the three airports with such restrictions in Brazil.
• São Paulo/Congonhas Airport (CGH) has 2 runways.
• The central hall of the passenger terminal is considered one of the most outstanding examples of modern architecture in São Paulo.