Nonstop flight route between Dammam, Saudi Arabia and St Athan, Wales, United Kingdom:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between King Fahd International Airport (DMM), Dammam, Saudi Arabia and MoD St Athan (DGX), St Athan, Wales, United Kingdom would travel a Great Circle distance of 3,244 miles (or 5,221 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 King Fahd International Airport and MoD St Athan, 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 King Fahd International Airport and MoD St Athan. 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 King Fahd International Airport (DMM):

• The airport is classified as Code E by ICAO which makes it designed to accommodate large aircraft such as Boeing 747-400 and A340-600.
• King Fahd International Airport (DMM) has 2 runways.
• The airport has two parallel runways with a length of 4,000 m each, in addition to taxiways parallel to the runways and a cross taxiway to connect the two runways.
• The airport is served by a multi-storey car park.
• In addition to being known as "King Fahd International Airport", other names for DMM include "Dammam Airport" and "مطار الملك فهد الدولي".
• A road for ground support equipment runs along the western side of the central terminal.
• The furthest airport from King Fahd International Airport (DMM) is Totegegie Airport (GMR), which is nearly antipodal to King Fahd International Airport (meaning King Fahd International Airport is almost on the exact opposite side of the Earth from Totegegie Airport), and is located 12,061 miles (19,411 kilometers) away in Mangareva, Gambier Islands, French Polynesia.
• The closest airport to King Fahd International Airport (DMM) is King Abdulaziz Air Base (DHA), which is located 26 miles (42 kilometers) ESE of DMM.
• Because of King Fahd International Airport's relatively low elevation of 72 feet, planes can take off or land at King Fahd International 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.
• The General Aviation terminal on the east side of Dammam airport is being used exclusively by Saudi Aramco.
• King Fahd International Airport handled 7,000,000 passengers last year.
• Several sources, such as the Guinness World Record mention this airport as the largest in the world, with 780 square kilometers.

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.
• 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.
• The closest airport to MoD St Athan (DGX) is Cardiff Airport (CWL), which is located only 4 miles (6 kilometers) E of DGX.
• In March 2003 it was confirmed that a new hi-tech maintenance centre would be built, creating 3,300 jobs.
• 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.
• MoD St Athan (DGX) currently has only 1 runway.
• 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 MOD continued to negotiate the project with the Metrix Consortium, but the price rose several times, reaching £14 billion in mid-2009.
• On 26 August 1993 an ATC civilian instructor was seriously injured and the RAF Volunteer Reserve pilot, Group Captain Roger Sweatman, was killed when their Chipmunk trainer, on an air experience flight, crashed after encountering difficulties during a simulated emergency low-height manoeuvre on take-off.
• 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.