Nonstop flight route between St Athan, Wales, United Kingdom and Mascot (near Sydney), Australia:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between MoD St Athan (DGX), St Athan, Wales, United Kingdom and Sydney (Kingsford Smith) Airport (SYD), Mascot (near Sydney), Australia would travel a Great Circle distance of 10,688 miles (or 17,200 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 Sydney (Kingsford Smith) 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 Sydney (Kingsford Smith) 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 two cadet passengers were cousins and were named as Katie Jo Davies, 15, and Nikitta Walters, 14.
• 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.
• 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.
• In 2006, the Special Forces Support Group was raised at St Athan and the Welsh Guards returned to London.
• 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.

Facts about Sydney (Kingsford Smith) Airport (SYD):

• The "third runway" which the Commonwealth government commenced development of in 1989 and completed in 1994, remained controversial because of increased aircraftmovements, especially over many inner suburbs.
• In December 2011, Sydney Airport announced a proposal to divide the airport into two airline-alliance-based precincts.
• In addition to being known as "Sydney (Kingsford Smith) Airport", another name for SYD is "Kingsford-Smith Airport".
• The furthest airport from Sydney (Kingsford Smith) Airport (SYD) is Santa Maria Airport (SMA), which is nearly antipodal to Sydney (Kingsford Smith) Airport (meaning Sydney (Kingsford Smith) Airport is almost on the exact opposite side of the Earth from Santa Maria Airport), and is located 12,144 miles (19,543 kilometers) away in Santa Maria, Portugal.
• Sydney (Kingsford Smith) Airport (SYD) has 3 runways.
• The local, state and federal governments have investigated the viability of building a second major airport in Sydney since the 1940s.
• The closest airport to Sydney (Kingsford Smith) Airport (SYD) is Bankstown Airport (BWU), which is located only 11 miles (18 kilometers) W of SYD.
• Terminal 1 was opened on 3 May 1970, replacing the old Overseas Passenger Terminal and has been greatly expanded since then.
• Because of Sydney (Kingsford Smith) Airport's relatively low elevation of 21 feet, planes can take off or land at Sydney (Kingsford Smith) 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.