Nonstop flight route between Emirau, Papua New Guinea and St Athan, Wales, United Kingdom:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Emirau Airport (EMI), Emirau, Papua New Guinea and MoD St Athan (DGX), St Athan, Wales, United Kingdom would travel a Great Circle distance of 8,668 miles (or 13,949 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 Emirau 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 Emirau 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 Emirau Airport (EMI):

• Emirau Airport (EMI) currently has only 1 runway.
• Base roll-up commenced in December 1944 and was completed by May 1945.
• Emirau was seized unopposed by two Battalions of the 4th Marine Division on 20 March 1944.Naval Construction Battalions arrived shortly after the landings and began construction of two coral-surfaced 7,000 feet by 150 feet airfields on the island.
• There was also one Australian unit located on the island - the 474 Heavy Anti-aircraft Troop.
• The furthest airport from Emirau Airport (EMI) is Governador Carlos Wilson Airport (FEN), which is nearly antipodal to Emirau Airport (meaning Emirau Airport is almost on the exact opposite side of the Earth from Governador Carlos Wilson Airport), and is located 12,022 miles (19,348 kilometers) away in Fernando de Noronha, Pernambuco, Brazil.
• Because of Emirau Airport's relatively low elevation of 100 feet, planes can take off or land at Emirau 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 closest airport to Emirau Airport (EMI) is Kavieng Airport (KVG), which is located 87 miles (139 kilometers) SE of EMI.

Facts about MoD St Athan (DGX):

• 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.
• The training to be carried out at St Athan was to be specialist phase 2 and phase 3 engineering courses of the Royal Navy, Army and Royal Air Force.
• 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.
• The last aircraft to be serviced at St Athan, a Vickers VC10, departed the site on 23 February 2012.
• The closest airport to MoD St Athan (DGX) is Cardiff Airport (CWL), which is located only 4 miles (6 kilometers) E of DGX.
• During the war a dummy airfield was built using wood and cardboard a few miles west of the original airfield and successful efforts were made to hide the proper field.
• The MOD continued to negotiate the project with the Metrix Consortium, but the price rose several times, reaching £14 billion in mid-2009.
• The two cadet passengers were cousins and were named as Katie Jo Davies, 15, and Nikitta Walters, 14.
• MoD St Athan (DGX) currently has only 1 runway.
• 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.