Nonstop flight route between St Athan, Wales, United Kingdom and Dammam, Saudi Arabia:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between MoD St Athan (DGX), St Athan, Wales, United Kingdom and King Fahd International Airport (DMM), Dammam, Saudi Arabia would travel a Great Circle distance of 3,244 miles (or 5,221 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 King Fahd 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 King Fahd 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):

• 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 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.
• 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.
• In 2006, the Special Forces Support Group was raised at St Athan and the Welsh Guards returned to London.
• In March 2003 it was confirmed that a new hi-tech maintenance centre would be built, creating 3,300 jobs.
• 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.

Facts about King Fahd International Airport (DMM):

• The closest airport to King Fahd International Airport (DMM) is King Abdulaziz Air Base (DHA), which is located 26 miles (42 kilometers) ESE of DMM.
• Because of King Fahd International Airport's relatively low elevation of 72 feet, planes can take off or land at King Fahd 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.
• The terminal's design allows for transforming the operation system to a fully automatic system equipped with multi-level racks and a container stacking system.
• In addition to being known as "King Fahd International Airport", other names for DMM include "Dammam Airport" and "مطار الملك فهد الدولي".
• King Fahd International Airport handled 7,000,000 passengers last year.
• The furthest airport from King Fahd International Airport (DMM) is Totegegie Airport (GMR), which is nearly antipodal to King Fahd International Airport (meaning King Fahd International Airport is almost on the exact opposite side of the Earth from Totegegie Airport), and is located 12,061 miles (19,411 kilometers) away in Mangareva, Gambier Islands, French Polynesia.
• King Fahd International Airport (DMM) has 2 runways.
• The passenger terminal’s total area is 327,000 m².
• The Royal Terminal is reserved for the Saudi Royal Family, government personnel, and official guests.
• Several sources, such as the Guinness World Record mention this airport as the largest in the world, with 780 square kilometers.