Nonstop flight route between St Athan, Wales, United Kingdom and Ponta Delgada, Azores, Portugal:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between MoD St Athan (DGX), St Athan, Wales, United Kingdom and João Paulo II Airport (PDL), Ponta Delgada, Azores, Portugal would travel a Great Circle distance of 1,436 miles (or 2,311 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 João Paulo II 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):

• 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.
• 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.
• 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.
• 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.
• 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 (DGX) currently has only 1 runway.

Facts about João Paulo II Airport (PDL):

• The furthest airport from João Paulo II Airport (PDL) is Merimbula Airport (MIM), which is nearly antipodal to João Paulo II Airport (meaning João Paulo II Airport is almost on the exact opposite side of the Earth from Merimbula Airport), and is located 12,188 miles (19,615 kilometers) away in Merimbula, New South Wales, Australia.
• In addition to being known as "João Paulo II Airport", another name for PDL is "Aeroporto João Paulo II".
• João Paulo II Airport handled 928,801 passengers last year.
• Because of João Paulo II Airport's relatively low elevation of 259 feet, planes can take off or land at João Paulo II 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.
• The closest airport to João Paulo II Airport (PDL) is Santa Maria Airport (SMA), which is located 60 miles (97 kilometers) SSE of PDL.
• João Paulo II Airport (PDL) currently has only 1 runway.