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

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between MoD St Athan (DGX), St Athan, Wales, United Kingdom and Djibouti–Ambouli International Airport (JIB), Djibouti, Djibouti would travel a Great Circle distance of 3,787 miles (or 6,094 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 Djibouti–Ambouli 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 Djibouti–Ambouli 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):

• In 2006, the Special Forces Support Group was raised at St Athan and the Welsh Guards returned to London.
• The closest airport to MoD St Athan (DGX) is Cardiff Airport (CWL), which is located only 4 miles (6 kilometers) E of DGX.
• MoD St Athan (DGX) currently has only 1 runway.
• 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.
• 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 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 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.
• 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.
• 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.
• The MOD continued to negotiate the project with the Metrix Consortium, but the price rose several times, reaching £14 billion in mid-2009.

Facts about Djibouti–Ambouli International Airport (JIB):

• As the airport is located south of Djibouti City and its runways run east–west, an airliner's landing approach is usually directly over the conurbation of the capital, when the wind is from the west.
• Djibouti–Ambouli International Airport (JIB) currently has only 1 runway.
• Djibouti–Ambouli International Airport is a joint civilian/military-use airport situated in the town of Ambouli.
• Because of Djibouti–Ambouli International Airport's relatively low elevation of 49 feet, planes can take off or land at Djibouti–Ambouli 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 furthest airport from Djibouti–Ambouli International Airport (JIB) is Atuona Airport (AUQ), which is nearly antipodal to Djibouti–Ambouli International Airport (meaning Djibouti–Ambouli International Airport is almost on the exact opposite side of the Earth from Atuona Airport), and is located 12,246 miles (19,708 kilometers) away in Atuona, Marquesas Islands, French Polynesia.
• The closest airport to Djibouti–Ambouli International Airport (JIB) is Moucha Airport (MHI), which is located only 13 miles (21 kilometers) NNE of JIB.
• Djibouti–Ambouli International Airport handled 258,877 passengers last year.
• BA 188 is a joint forces support establishment, which has numerous support units based there and an anti-aircraft missile section of 8 double-barrelled 20 mm anti-aircraft guns and Mistral firing posts.