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

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between MoD St Athan (DGX), St Athan, Wales, United Kingdom and Taiyuan Wuxu International Airport (TYN), Taiyuan, Shanxi, China would travel a Great Circle distance of 5,170 miles (or 8,320 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 Taiyuan Wuxu 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 Taiyuan Wuxu 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 base has been home to the RAF No.
• 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.
• 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.
• MoD St Athan (DGX) currently has only 1 runway.
• The MOD continued to negotiate the project with the Metrix Consortium, but the price rose several times, reaching £14 billion in mid-2009.
• 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.
• St Athan also became the major RAF maintenance base for Vulcan, Victor, Buccaner, Phantom, Harrier, Tornado, Jaguar, Hawk and VC10 aircraft, originally under direct RAF control, but latterly under the auspices of the Defence Aviation Repair Agency.
• 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 Taiyuan Wuxu International Airport (TYN):

• In addition to being known as "Taiyuan Wuxu International Airport", other names for TYN include "太原武宿国际机场" and "Tàiyuán Wǔsù Guójì Jīchǎng".
• The closest airport to Taiyuan Wuxu International Airport (TYN) is Lüliang Airport (LLV), which is located 81 miles (131 kilometers) W of TYN.
• Taiyuan Wuxu International Airport (TYN) currently has only 1 runway.
• Taiyuan Wuxu International Airport handled 6,813,265 passengers last year.
• The furthest airport from Taiyuan Wuxu International Airport (TYN) is Colonia Catriel Airport (CCT), which is nearly antipodal to Taiyuan Wuxu International Airport (meaning Taiyuan Wuxu International Airport is almost on the exact opposite side of the Earth from Colonia Catriel Airport), and is located 12,409 miles (19,970 kilometers) away in Colonia Catriel, Río Negro, Argentina.