Nonstop flight route between St Athan, Wales, United Kingdom and Takamatsu, Kagawa, Japan:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between MoD St Athan (DGX), St Athan, Wales, United Kingdom and Takamatsu Airport (TAK), Takamatsu, Kagawa, Japan would travel a Great Circle distance of 5,983 miles (or 9,629 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 Takamatsu 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 Takamatsu 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):

• 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 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 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.
• The closest airport to MoD St Athan (DGX) is Cardiff Airport (CWL), which is located only 4 miles (6 kilometers) E of 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.
• MoD St Athan (DGX) currently has only 1 runway.
• In 2009 building work was due to commence on a new defence training academy with its heart at St Athan.

Facts about Takamatsu Airport (TAK):

• On January 16, 2013, an All Nippon Airways Boeing 787 made an emergency landing at Takamatsu after reporting a battery problem in flight.
• In addition to being known as "Takamatsu Airport", other names for TAK include "高松空港" and "Takamatsu Kūkō".
• Almost all the airplanes that come from domestic destinations are Boeing 767 or A320 model airplanes.
• The furthest airport from Takamatsu Airport (TAK) is Rio Grande Regional Airport (RIG), which is nearly antipodal to Takamatsu Airport (meaning Takamatsu Airport is almost on the exact opposite side of the Earth from Rio Grande Regional Airport), and is located 12,050 miles (19,393 kilometers) away in Rio Grande, Brazil.
• Takamatsu Airport (TAK) currently has only 1 runway.
• The closest airport to Takamatsu Airport (TAK) is Okayama Airport (OKJ), which is located 39 miles (62 kilometers) NNW of TAK.
• Because of Takamatsu Airport's relatively low elevation of 607 feet, planes can take off or land at Takamatsu 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.
• Most flights that arrive and depart from Takamatsu Airport are ANA and Japan Airlines planes.