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

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between MoD St Athan (DGX), St Athan, Wales, United Kingdom and Xi'an Xianyang International Airport (XIY), Xianyang, Shaanxi, China would travel a Great Circle distance of 5,227 miles (or 8,412 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 Xi'an Xianyang 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 Xi'an Xianyang 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):

• MoD St Athan (DGX) currently has only 1 runway.
• 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.
• 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.
• 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.
• 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.
• The base has been home to the RAF No.
• 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.

Facts about Xi'an Xianyang International Airport (XIY):

• The closest airport to Xi'an Xianyang International Airport (XIY) is Xi'an Xiguan Airport (SIA), which is located 22 miles (35 kilometers) ESE of XIY.
• Xi'an Xianyang International Airport (XIY) has 2 runways.
• In addition to being known as "Xi'an Xianyang International Airport", other names for XIY include "西安咸阳国际机场" and "Xī'ān Xiányáng Guójì Jīchǎng".
• In 2012, the airport handled 23,420,654 passengers, making it the busiest airport in northwest China and the 8th busiest nationwide.
• The furthest airport from Xi'an Xianyang International Airport (XIY) is La Unión Airport (LUI), which is nearly antipodal to Xi'an Xianyang International Airport (meaning Xi'an Xianyang International Airport is almost on the exact opposite side of the Earth from La Unión Airport), and is located 12,412 miles (19,976 kilometers) away in La Unión, Honduras[disambiguation needed].
• Xi'an Xianyang International Airport handled 23,420,654 passengers last year.
• Terminal 3 and the second runway were opened on 3 May 2012, increasing the airport's capacity to more than 33 million passengers a year.