Nonstop flight route between St Athan, Wales, United Kingdom and Kärdla, Hiiumaa, Estonia:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between MoD St Athan (DGX), St Athan, Wales, United Kingdom and Kärdla Airport (KDL), Kärdla, Hiiumaa, Estonia would travel a Great Circle distance of 1,151 miles (or 1,852 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 relatively short distance between MoD St Athan and Kärdla Airport, the route shown on this map most likely still appears to be a straight line.

Departure Airport Information:

Arrival Airport Information:

Facts about MoD St Athan (DGX):

• MoD St Athan (DGX) currently has only 1 runway.
• In 2009 building work was due to commence on a new defence training academy with its heart at St Athan.
• The last aircraft to be serviced at St Athan, a Vickers VC10, departed the site on 23 February 2012.
• The closest airport to MoD St Athan (DGX) is Cardiff Airport (CWL), which is located only 4 miles (6 kilometers) E of DGX.
• 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.
• 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.
• In March 2004, however, DARA announced the loss of 550 jobs at St Athan as part of streamlining to make DARA more efficient and better able to compete with the private sector for lucrative aircraft repair contracts, but also because they lost out to a direct RAF bid for a contract to upgrade the air force's fleet of ageing Harrier jump jet aircraft.
• 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 Kärdla Airport (KDL):

• On 23 November 2001 an airplane with 17 people on board crashed on its way from Tallinn to Kärdla, near Palade at Hiiumaa.
• Because of Kärdla Airport's relatively low elevation of 18 feet, planes can take off or land at Kärdla 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.
• Kärdla Airport opened in 1963.
• Kärdla Airport (KDL) currently has only 1 runway.
• The furthest airport from Kärdla Airport (KDL) is Chatham Islands (CHT), which is located 11,109 miles (17,877 kilometers) away in Waitangi, Chatham Islands, New Zealand.
• In addition to being known as "Kärdla Airport", another name for KDL is "Kärdla lennujaam".
• The closest airport to Kärdla Airport (KDL) is Kuressaare Airport (URE), which is located 54 miles (87 kilometers) SSW of KDL.