Nonstop flight route between St Athan, Wales, United Kingdom and Mbala, Northern Province, Zambia:
Departure Airport:
Arrival Airport:
Distance from DGX to MMQ:
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- About this route
- DGX Airport Information
- MMQ Airport Information
- Facts about DGX
- Facts about MMQ
- Map of Nearest Airports to DGX
- List of Nearest Airports to DGX
- Map of Furthest Airports from DGX
- List of Furthest Airports from DGX
- Map of Nearest Airports to MMQ
- List of Nearest Airports to MMQ
- Map of Furthest Airports from MMQ
- List of Furthest Airports from MMQ
About this route:
A direct, nonstop flight between MoD St Athan (DGX), St Athan, Wales, United Kingdom and Mbala Airport (MMQ), Mbala, Northern Province, Zambia would travel a Great Circle distance of 4,650 miles (or 7,483 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 Mbala 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 Mbala Airport. You'll see that it will travel the same route of the red line on this map!
Departure Airport Information:
IATA / ICAO Codes: | DGX / EGDX |
Airport Name: | MoD St Athan |
Location: | St Athan, Wales, United Kingdom |
GPS Coordinates: | 51°24'16"N by 3°26'8"W |
Operator/Owner: | Ministry of Defence |
Airport Type: | Military |
Elevation: | 163 feet (50 meters) |
# of Runways: | 1 |
View all routes: | Routes from DGX |
More Information: | DGX Maps & Info |
Arrival Airport Information:
IATA / ICAO Codes: | MMQ / FLBA |
Airport Name: | Mbala Airport |
Location: | Mbala, Northern Province, Zambia |
GPS Coordinates: | 8°51'29"S by 31°19'59"E |
Area Served: | Mbala |
Airport Type: | Public |
Elevation: | 5454 feet (1,662 meters) |
# of Runways: | 1 |
View all routes: | Routes from MMQ |
More Information: | MMQ Maps & Info |
Facts about MoD St Athan (DGX):
- 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 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 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 last aircraft to be serviced at St Athan, a Vickers VC10, departed the site on 23 February 2012.
- 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 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.
- 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 Mbala Airport (MMQ):
- The closest airport to Mbala Airport (MMQ) is Kasaba Bay Airport (ZKB), which is located 51 miles (83 kilometers) WNW of MMQ.
- Because of Mbala Airport's high elevation of 5,454 feet, planes must typically fly at a faster airspeed in order to takeoff or land at MMQ. Combined with a high temperature, this could make MMQ a "Hot & High" airport, where the air density is lower than it would otherwise be at sea level.
- Mbala Airport (MMQ) currently has only 1 runway.
- The furthest airport from Mbala Airport (MMQ) is Cassidy International Airport (CXI), which is located 11,674 miles (18,788 kilometers) away in Christmas Island, Kiribati.