Nonstop flight route between St Athan, Wales, United Kingdom and Oran, Algeria:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between MoD St Athan (DGX), St Athan, Wales, United Kingdom and Es-Sénia – Ben Bella Airport (ORN), Oran, Algeria would travel a Great Circle distance of 1,099 miles (or 1,769 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 Es-Sénia – Ben Bella 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.
• 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 later decided that DARA's 'Fast Jets' and 'Engines' businesses would close by April 2007, although the 'Large Aircraft' business would continue and, on 14 April 2005, the Project Red Dragon super-hangar opened and DARA moved its VC10 operations from its existing 'Twin Peaks' hangar into the new facility.
• 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.
• MOD St Athan is a large Ministry of Defence unit near the village of St Athan in the Vale of Glamorgan, southern Wales.
• 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.
• 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.
• 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.
• In 2006, the Special Forces Support Group was raised at St Athan and the Welsh Guards returned to London.

Facts about Es-Sénia – Ben Bella Airport (ORN):

• Es-Sénia – Ben Bella Airport (ORN) has 2 runways.
• Once the combat units moved east to other airfields in Algeria and Tunisia during the late spring of 1943, the airfield came under the control of Air Transport Command, under which it functioned as a stopover en route to Algiers airport or to Port Lyautey Airfield, in French Morocco on the North African Cairo–Dakar transport route for cargo, transiting aircraft and personnel.
• The furthest airport from Es-Sénia – Ben Bella Airport (ORN) is Whakatane Airport (WHK), which is nearly antipodal to Es-Sénia – Ben Bella Airport (meaning Es-Sénia – Ben Bella Airport is almost on the exact opposite side of the Earth from Whakatane Airport), and is located 12,228 miles (19,678 kilometers) away in Whakatane, New Zealand.
• After its capture, the airport was used by the United States Army Air Forces Twelfth Air Force as a combat airfield during the North African Campaign.
• The closest airport to Es-Sénia – Ben Bella Airport (ORN) is Oran Tafaraoui Airport (TAF), which is located only 7 miles (12 kilometers) SE of ORN.
• During the Operation Torch landings in 1942, La Sénia was one of the primary objectives of the assault on Oran on 9 November.
• Because of Es-Sénia – Ben Bella Airport's relatively low elevation of 295 feet, planes can take off or land at Es-Sénia – Ben Bella 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.
• In addition to being known as "Es-Sénia – Ben Bella Airport", other names for ORN include "Es Sénia Airport (Ouahran)" and "مطار السانية وهران".