Nonstop flight route between St Athan, Wales, United Kingdom and Houston, Texas, United States:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between MoD St Athan (DGX), St Athan, Wales, United Kingdom and William P. Hobby Airport (HOU), Houston, Texas, United States would travel a Great Circle distance of 4,722 miles (or 7,599 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 William P. Hobby 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 William P. Hobby 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):

• 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.
• 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 training to be carried out at St Athan was to be specialist phase 2 and phase 3 engineering courses of the Royal Navy, Army and Royal Air Force.
• The closest airport to MoD St Athan (DGX) is Cardiff Airport (CWL), which is located only 4 miles (6 kilometers) E of DGX.
• In March 2003 it was confirmed that a new hi-tech maintenance centre would be built, creating 3,300 jobs.
• 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 William P. Hobby Airport (HOU):

• United Airlines, Houston's other major carrier, which would subsequently be forced to compete with Southwest on proposed international routes, has objected to the expansion plans, citing a study which concludes that the change would cost the Houston area jobs and result in a net reduction in GRP.
• The closest airport to William P. Hobby Airport (HOU) is Ellington Field Joint Reserve BaseEllington Air Force BaseEllington Field (EFD), which is located only 8 miles (12 kilometers) ESE of HOU.
• On April 9, 2012, Houston Director of Aviation Mario Diaz announced support of international flights from Hobby after multiple studies of the economic impact on the entire city of Houston.
• Because of William P. Hobby Airport's relatively low elevation of 46 feet, planes can take off or land at William P. Hobby 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.
• George Bush Intercontinental Airport opened in 1969 because of expansion limitations at Hobby, and all airlines at Hobby moved there.
• In addition to being known as "William P. Hobby Airport", another name for HOU is "Houston Hobby".
• The furthest airport from William P. Hobby Airport (HOU) is Cocos (Keeling) Island Airport (CCK), which is located 11,002 miles (17,706 kilometers) away in Cocos Islands, Australia.
• William P. Hobby Airport (HOU) has 4 runways.
• William P. Hobby Airport handled 9,054,001 passengers last year.
• The terminal includes an interfaith chapel.