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

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between MoD St Athan (DGX), St Athan, Wales, United Kingdom and La Nubia Airport (MZL), Manizales, Colombia would travel a Great Circle distance of 5,176 miles (or 8,330 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 La Nubia 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 La Nubia 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.
• The last aircraft to be serviced at St Athan, a Vickers VC10, departed the site on 23 February 2012.
• 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 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 closest airport to MoD St Athan (DGX) is Cardiff Airport (CWL), which is located only 4 miles (6 kilometers) E of DGX.
• In 2006, the Special Forces Support Group was raised at St Athan and the Welsh Guards returned to London.
• 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.
• 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.
• After the war, airmen of the Airframe and Engine trades continued to train at St Athan, but in 1955 this training dispersed to RAF Kirkham and RAF Weeton.

Facts about La Nubia Airport (MZL):

• La Nubia Airport (MZL) currently has only 1 runway.
• The closest airport to La Nubia Airport (MZL) is Matecaña International Airport (PEI), which is located 24 miles (39 kilometers) SW of MZL.
• In addition to being known as "La Nubia Airport", another name for MZL is "Aeropuerto La Nubia".
• The furthest airport from La Nubia Airport (MZL) is Radin Inten II Airport (RIA II) (TKG), which is nearly antipodal to La Nubia Airport (meaning La Nubia Airport is almost on the exact opposite side of the Earth from Radin Inten II Airport (RIA II)), and is located 12,390 miles (19,940 kilometers) away in Bandar Lampung, Sumatra, Indonesia.
• Because of La Nubia Airport's relatively low elevation of 7 feet, planes can take off or land at La Nubia 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.