Nonstop flight route between St Athan, Wales, United Kingdom and Gibraltar:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between MoD St Athan (DGX), St Athan, Wales, United Kingdom and Gibraltar International Airport (GIB), Gibraltar would travel a Great Circle distance of 1,058 miles (or 1,703 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 relatively short distance between MoD St Athan and Gibraltar International Airport, the route shown on this map most likely still appears to be a straight line.

Departure Airport Information:

Arrival Airport Information:

Facts about MoD St Athan (DGX):

• 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 MOD later decided that DARA's 'Fast Jets' and 'Engines' businesses would close by April 2007, although the 'Large Aircraft' business would continue and, on 14 April 2005, the Project Red Dragon super-hangar opened and DARA moved its VC10 operations from its existing 'Twin Peaks' hangar into the new facility.
• 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.
• 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.
• MoD St Athan (DGX) currently has only 1 runway.
• RAF St Athan was also home for the Royal Air Force Administrative Apprentice Training School.
• In 2009 building work was due to commence on a new defence training academy with its heart at St Athan.
• In 2006, the Special Forces Support Group was raised at St Athan and the Welsh Guards returned to London.
• MOD St Athan is a large Ministry of Defence unit near the village of St Athan in the Vale of Glamorgan, southern Wales.

Facts about Gibraltar International Airport (GIB):

• The airport was constructed during World War II upon the territory's race course, when Gibraltar was an important naval base for the British.
• The closest airport to Gibraltar International Airport (GIB) is Ceuta Heliport (JCU), which is located only 18 miles (29 kilometers) S of GIB.
• The furthest airport from Gibraltar International Airport (GIB) is Whangarei Airport (WRE), which is nearly antipodal to Gibraltar International Airport (meaning Gibraltar International Airport is almost on the exact opposite side of the Earth from Whangarei Airport), and is located 12,406 miles (19,965 kilometers) away in Whangarei, New Zealand.
• Because of Gibraltar International Airport's relatively low elevation of 15 feet, planes can take off or land at Gibraltar 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.
• Gibraltar International Airport (GIB) currently has only 1 runway.
• On 18 May 2011, Bmibaby announced that it would launch flights from Gibraltar to East Midlands from 31 March 2012.
• The old terminal at the airport was built in 1959 and refurbished in the late 1990s.
• There will be several car parks built at Gibraltar International during its expansion.
• By late 2005 and early 2006, the implementation of a new agreement was one of the main topics of the Gibraltar Trilateral Forum being held between the Governments of Gibraltar, Spain and the United Kingdom.
• Gibraltar International Airport handled 383,013 passengers last year.
• From 2011 until October 2012, EasyJet offered thrice-weekly service from Gibraltar to Liverpool, but it was eventually cancelled due to lack of demand.
• In addition to being known as "Gibraltar International Airport", another name for GIB is "(North Front Airport)".
• On 17 November 2006 Iberia announced that it would start flights from Madrid to Gibraltar using an Airbus A319 aircraft.