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

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between MoD St Athan (DGX), St Athan, Wales, United Kingdom and Ghazni Airport (GZI), Ghazni, Afghanistan would travel a Great Circle distance of 3,702 miles (or 5,958 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 Ghazni 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 Ghazni 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):

• 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.
• RAF St Athan has been used to house a number of army units throughout its life and, in 2003, the 1st Battalion, Welsh Guards moved from Aldershot to St Athan - the first time they have been based in Wales since they were formed in 1915.
• MOD St Athan is a large Ministry of Defence unit near the village of St Athan in the Vale of Glamorgan, southern Wales.
• The only squadrons to operate out of St Athan on a regular basis are the University of Wales Air Squadron, flying Grob Tutors and No 634 Volunteer Gliding Squadron using Vigilant T.1s.
• 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.
• 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.
• The MOD continued to negotiate the project with the Metrix Consortium, but the price rose several times, reaching £14 billion in mid-2009.
• The two cadet passengers were cousins and were named as Katie Jo Davies, 15, and Nikitta Walters, 14.
• The closest airport to MoD St Athan (DGX) is Cardiff Airport (CWL), which is located only 4 miles (6 kilometers) E of DGX.

Facts about Ghazni Airport (GZI):

• The closest airport to Ghazni Airport (GZI) is Sardeh Band Airport (SBF), which is located only 19 miles (31 kilometers) SE of GZI.
• Ghazni Airport (GZI) currently has only 1 runway.
• The furthest airport from Ghazni Airport (GZI) is Mataveri International Airport (IPC), which is located 11,978 miles (19,277 kilometers) away in Easter Island, Chile.
• Because of Ghazni Airport's high elevation of 7,126 feet, planes must typically fly at a faster airspeed in order to takeoff or land at GZI. Combined with a high temperature, this could make GZI a "Hot & High" airport, where the air density is lower than it would otherwise be at sea level.
• In addition to being known as "Ghazni Airport", other names for GZI include "Ghazni Airport (Ghazni)" and "د غزنی نړیوال هوایی ډګر".