Nonstop flight route between St Athan, Wales, United Kingdom and Shijiazhuang, China:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between MoD St Athan (DGX), St Athan, Wales, United Kingdom and Shijiazhuang Zhengding International Airport (SJW), Shijiazhuang, China would travel a Great Circle distance of 5,205 miles (or 8,376 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 Shijiazhuang Zhengding International 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 Shijiazhuang Zhengding International 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):

• 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.
• 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 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.
• 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.
• The new academy was claimed to create up to 5000 jobs at St Athan with a £14 billion investment over 25 years with an estimated £57.4 million spent into the local economy.
• 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.
• The last aircraft to be serviced at St Athan, a Vickers VC10, departed the site on 23 February 2012.
• The MOD continued to negotiate the project with the Metrix Consortium, but the price rose several times, reaching £14 billion in mid-2009.
• MoD St Athan (DGX) currently has only 1 runway.

Facts about Shijiazhuang Zhengding International Airport (SJW):

• Because of Shijiazhuang Zhengding International Airport's relatively low elevation of 233 feet, planes can take off or land at Shijiazhuang Zhengding International 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.
• Shijiazhuang Zhengding International Airport (SJW) currently has only 1 runway.
• The Beijing–Guangzhou–Shenzhen–Hong Kong High-Speed Railway passes within about 3 km south of the airport's terminal.
• The closest airport to Shijiazhuang Zhengding International Airport (SJW) is Xingtai Dalian Airport (XNT), which is located 98 miles (157 kilometers) S of SJW.
• Shijiazhuang Zhengding International Airport handled 4,021,167 passengers last year.
• In addition to being known as "Shijiazhuang Zhengding International Airport", other names for SJW include "石家莊正定國際機場" and "Shíjiāzhuāng Zhèngdìng Guójì Jīchǎng".
• The furthest airport from Shijiazhuang Zhengding International Airport (SJW) is Santa Rosa Airport (RSA), which is nearly antipodal to Shijiazhuang Zhengding International Airport (meaning Shijiazhuang Zhengding International Airport is almost on the exact opposite side of the Earth from Santa Rosa Airport), and is located 12,307 miles (19,807 kilometers) away in Santa Rosa, Argentina.