Nonstop flight route between St Athan, Wales, United Kingdom and Hawi, Hawaii, United States:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between MoD St Athan (DGX), St Athan, Wales, United Kingdom and Upolu Airport (UPP), Hawi, Hawaii, United States would travel a Great Circle distance of 7,211 miles (or 11,604 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 Upolu 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 Upolu 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 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 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.
• MoD St Athan (DGX) currently has only 1 runway.
• The last aircraft to be serviced at St Athan, a Vickers VC10, departed the site on 23 February 2012.
• 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 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.
• 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.

Facts about Upolu Airport (UPP):

• The closest airport to Upolu Airport (UPP) is Waimea-Kohala Airport (MUE), which is located 22 miles (36 kilometers) SE of UPP.
• Upolu Airport (UPP) currently has only 1 runway.
• The furthest airport from Upolu Airport (UPP) is Maun Airport (MUB), which is nearly antipodal to Upolu Airport (meaning Upolu Airport is almost on the exact opposite side of the Earth from Maun Airport), and is located 12,387 miles (19,934 kilometers) away in Maun, Botswana.
• Because of Upolu Airport's relatively low elevation of 96 feet, planes can take off or land at Upolu 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.
• Upolu Airport covers an area of 82 acres at an elevation of 96 feet above mean sea level.