Nonstop flight route between St Athan, Wales, United Kingdom and Long Beach, California, United States:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between MoD St Athan (DGX), St Athan, Wales, United Kingdom and Long Beach Airport (JLB), Long Beach, California, United States would travel a Great Circle distance of 5,347 miles (or 8,606 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 Long Beach 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 Long Beach 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):

• 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.
• The closest airport to MoD St Athan (DGX) is Cardiff Airport (CWL), which is located only 4 miles (6 kilometers) E of DGX.
• The MOD continued to negotiate the project with the Metrix Consortium, but the price rose several times, reaching £14 billion in mid-2009.
• 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.
• In 2009 building work was due to commence on a new defence training academy with its heart at St Athan.
• 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.
• 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.

Facts about Long Beach Airport (JLB):

• Long Beach Airport handled 2,978,433 passengers last year.
• The closest airport to Long Beach Airport (JLB) is Long Beach Airport (LGB), which is located only 0 mile (0 kilometer) N of JLB.
• Air cargo carriers, including FedEx and UPS, also use LGB.
• Long Beach Airport (JLB) has 5 runways.
• So the Navy had begun a survey for another site — unknown to city officials at the time.
• In addition to being known as "Long Beach Airport", other names for JLB include "LGB", "KLGB" and "LGB".
• The Long Beach Airport has an aggressive noise abatement program which includes three full-time noise specialists.
• Because of Long Beach Airport's relatively low elevation of 60 feet, planes can take off or land at Long Beach 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 Long Beach Airport (JLB) is Pierrefonds Airport (ZSE), which is located 11,489 miles (18,489 kilometers) away in Saint-Pierre, Réunion.
• Long Beach Airport is the second closest airport to Disneyland, after John Wayne Airport.
• During the 1940s and 1950s, the only airline non-stops from Long Beach Airport were to Los Angeles, San Diego, and sometimes Catalina Island.