Nonstop flight route between St Athan, Wales, United Kingdom and Newcastle upon Tyne, United Kingdom:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between MoD St Athan (DGX), St Athan, Wales, United Kingdom and Newcastle Airport (NCL), Newcastle upon Tyne, United Kingdom would travel a Great Circle distance of 261 miles (or 420 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 Newcastle 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):

• 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.
• MoD St Athan (DGX) currently has only 1 runway.
• 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.
• 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 closest airport to MoD St Athan (DGX) is Cardiff Airport (CWL), which is located only 4 miles (6 kilometers) E of DGX.
• 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 2003 it was confirmed that a new hi-tech maintenance centre would be built, creating 3,300 jobs.
• The MOD continued to negotiate the project with the Metrix Consortium, but the price rose several times, reaching £14 billion in mid-2009.
• 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.
• St Athan also became the major RAF maintenance base for Vulcan, Victor, Buccaner, Phantom, Harrier, Tornado, Jaguar, Hawk and VC10 aircraft, originally under direct RAF control, but latterly under the auspices of the Defence Aviation Repair Agency.

Facts about Newcastle Airport (NCL):

• The airport is owned by seven local authorities and AMP Capital.
• The main handling agents at the Airport are Swissport UK who provide services for eighteen of the above 26 airlines and Servisair, their cargo division has a significant operation at Newcastle.
• The airport mainly serves the City of Newcastle, the greater Tyneside area, Northumberland and Wearside.
• The closest airport to Newcastle Airport (NCL) is Durham Tees Valley Airport (MME), which is located 38 miles (61 kilometers) SSE of NCL.
• Newcastle Airport (NCL) currently has only 1 runway.
• The Airport is connected to the A1 trunk road by the A696 dual carriageway.
• The furthest airport from Newcastle Airport (NCL) is Ryan's Creek Aerodrome (SZS), which is located 11,722 miles (18,864 kilometers) away in Stewart Island, New Zealand.
• Newcastle Airport handled 4,420,839 passengers last year.
• Newcastle Airport has a CAA Public Use Aerodrome Licence that allows flights for the public transport of passengers or for flying instruction.
• Because of Newcastle Airport's relatively low elevation of 266 feet, planes can take off or land at Newcastle 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.
• Rapid expansion in passenger traffic has led to increasing commercial utilisation of the south-side of the airport, which was previously used for general aviation, and is now used for freight, mail and corporate flights.