Nonstop flight route between St Athan, Wales, United Kingdom and Nissan Island, Papua New Guinea:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between MoD St Athan (DGX), St Athan, Wales, United Kingdom and Nissan Island Airport (IIS), Nissan Island, Papua New Guinea would travel a Great Circle distance of 8,950 miles (or 14,404 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 Nissan Island 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 Nissan Island 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.
• In 2006, the Special Forces Support Group was raised at St Athan and the Welsh Guards returned to London.
• 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.
• 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.
• 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.
• 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.

Facts about Nissan Island Airport (IIS):

• Nissan Island Airport (IIS) currently has only 1 runway.
• No known scheduled services.
• The furthest airport from Nissan Island Airport (IIS) is São Filipe Airport (SFL), which is located 11,714 miles (18,852 kilometers) away in Fogo, Cape Verde.
• The closest airport to Nissan Island Airport (IIS) is Buka Island Airport (BUA), which is located 71 miles (114 kilometers) SSE of IIS.
• In addition to being known as "Nissan Island Airport", other names for IIS include "AYIA" and "Nissan Island".
• Lagoon Airfield was abandoned after the war, while Ocean Airfield remained in use as a civilian airfield.
• Because of Nissan Island Airport's relatively low elevation of 100 feet, planes can take off or land at Nissan Island 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.
• In late 1944 airfield roll-up activities were commenced and were completed by August 1945.