Nonstop flight route between St Athan, Wales, United Kingdom and Calama, Antofagasta Region, Chile:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between MoD St Athan (DGX), St Athan, Wales, United Kingdom and El Loa Airport (CJC), Calama, Antofagasta Region, Chile would travel a Great Circle distance of 6,455 miles (or 10,388 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 El Loa 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 El Loa 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.
• 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.
• 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.
• RAF St Athan was also home for the Royal Air Force Administrative Apprentice Training School.
• In March 2003 it was confirmed that a new hi-tech maintenance centre would be built, creating 3,300 jobs.
• The closest airport to MoD St Athan (DGX) is Cardiff Airport (CWL), which is located only 4 miles (6 kilometers) E of DGX.
• In 2009 building work was due to commence on a new defence training academy with its heart at St Athan.
• 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.
• 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.

Facts about El Loa Airport (CJC):

• Because of El Loa Airport's high elevation of 7,543 feet, planes must typically fly at a faster airspeed in order to takeoff or land at CJC. Combined with a high temperature, this could make CJC a "Hot & High" airport, where the air density is lower than it would otherwise be at sea level.
• The furthest airport from El Loa Airport (CJC) is Wuzhou Changzhoudao Airport (WUZ), which is nearly antipodal to El Loa Airport (meaning El Loa Airport is almost on the exact opposite side of the Earth from Wuzhou Changzhoudao Airport), and is located 12,369 miles (19,906 kilometers) away in Wuzhou, Guangxi, China.
• The airport served 247,821 in 2004, 273,275 in 2005, and 315,725 in 2006.
• In addition to being known as "El Loa Airport", other names for CJC include "Aeropuerto El Loa" and "El Loa Airdrome".
• El Loa Airport handled 315,725 passengers last year.
• The airport currently accommodates aircraft with a maximum wingspan of 36m.
• The closest airport to El Loa Airport (CJC) is Carolina Airport (CLN), which is located 89 miles (143 kilometers) W of CJC.