Nonstop flight route between St Athan, Wales, United Kingdom and Siena, Italy:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between MoD St Athan (DGX), St Athan, Wales, United Kingdom and Siena-Ampugnano Airport (SAY), Siena, Italy would travel a Great Circle distance of 886 miles (or 1,426 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 Siena-Ampugnano 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.
• 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 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.
• 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.
• 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 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.
• 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.
• RAF St Athan has been used to house a number of army units throughout its life and, in 2003, the 1st Battalion, Welsh Guards moved from Aldershot to St Athan - the first time they have been based in Wales since they were formed in 1915.

Facts about Siena-Ampugnano Airport (SAY):

• Siena-Ampugnano Airport (SAY) currently has only 1 runway.
• The furthest airport from Siena-Ampugnano Airport (SAY) is Chatham Islands (CHT), which is nearly antipodal to Siena-Ampugnano Airport (meaning Siena-Ampugnano Airport is almost on the exact opposite side of the Earth from Chatham Islands), and is located 12,049 miles (19,391 kilometers) away in Waitangi, Chatham Islands, New Zealand.
• The closest airport to Siena-Ampugnano Airport (SAY) is Grosseto Airport (GRS), which is located 36 miles (57 kilometers) SSW of SAY.
• The airport resides at an elevation of 634 feet above mean sea level.
• In addition to being known as "Siena-Ampugnano Airport", other names for SAY include "Aeroporto di Siena-Ampugnano" and "Siena-Ampugnano".
• Siena-Ampugnano Airport handled 3,745 passengers last year.
• Because of Siena-Ampugnano Airport's relatively low elevation of 634 feet, planes can take off or land at Siena-Ampugnano 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.
• During World War II, the facility was known as Malignano Airfield.