Nonstop flight route between Great Barrier Island, New Zealand and St Athan, Wales, United Kingdom:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Great Barrier Aerodrome (GBZ), Great Barrier Island, New Zealand and MoD St Athan (DGX), St Athan, Wales, United Kingdom would travel a Great Circle distance of 11,388 miles (or 18,327 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 Great Barrier Aerodrome 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 Great Barrier Aerodrome 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 Great Barrier Aerodrome (GBZ):

• The furthest airport from Great Barrier Aerodrome (GBZ) is Málaga Airport (AGP), which is nearly antipodal to Great Barrier Aerodrome (meaning Great Barrier Aerodrome is almost on the exact opposite side of the Earth from Málaga Airport), and is located 12,407 miles (19,967 kilometers) away in Málaga, Spain.
• The closest airport to Great Barrier Aerodrome (GBZ) is Coromandel Aerodrome (CMV), which is located 38 miles (61 kilometers) S of GBZ.
• Great Barrier Aerodrome (GBZ) has 2 runways.
• Because of Great Barrier Aerodrome's relatively low elevation of 21 feet, planes can take off or land at Great Barrier Aerodrome 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.

Facts about MoD St Athan (DGX):

• The closest airport to MoD St Athan (DGX) is Cardiff Airport (CWL), which is located only 4 miles (6 kilometers) E of DGX.
• The only squadrons to operate out of St Athan on a regular basis are the University of Wales Air Squadron, flying Grob Tutors and No 634 Volunteer Gliding Squadron using Vigilant T.1s.
• 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 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.
• 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.
• In 2009 building work was due to commence on a new defence training academy with its heart at St Athan.