Nonstop flight route between Glasgow, Scotland, United Kingdom and St Athan, Wales, United Kingdom:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Glasgow International Airport (GLA), Glasgow, Scotland, United Kingdom and MoD St Athan (DGX), St Athan, Wales, United Kingdom would travel a Great Circle distance of 311 miles (or 501 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 relatively short distance between Glasgow International Airport and MoD St Athan, the route shown on this map most likely still appears to be a straight line.

Departure Airport Information:

Arrival Airport Information:

Facts about Glasgow International Airport (GLA):

• The first commercial flight to arrive was a British European Airways flight from Edinburgh, landing at 8 am on 2 May 1966.
• An extended terminal building was created by building a pre-fabricated metal structure around the front of the original Basil Spence building, hence screening much of its distinctive Brutalist style architecture from view, with the void between the two structures joined by a glass atrium and walkway.
• The history of the present Glasgow Airport goes back to 1932, when the site at Abbotsinch, between the Black Cart Water and the White Cart Water, near Paisley in Renfrewshire, was opened and the Royal Air Force 602 Squadron Auxiliary Air Force moved its Wapiti IIA aircraft from nearby Renfrew in January 1933.
• The furthest airport from Glasgow International Airport (GLA) is Ryan's Creek Aerodrome (SZS), which is located 11,739 miles (18,892 kilometers) away in Stewart Island, New Zealand.
• In 2007, Glasgow became the second busiest airport in Scotland as passenger numbers were surpassed by those at Edinburgh Airport.
• A dedicated international departure lounge and pier was added at the western side of the building, leaving the facility with a total of 38 gates, bringing its capacity up to nine million passengers per year.
• The closest airport to Glasgow International Airport (GLA) is Glasgow-Prestwick Airport (PIK), which is located 26 miles (42 kilometers) SSW of GLA.
• Glasgow International Airport handled 7,363,764 passengers last year.
• The West Pier, built as part of the 1989 extension project, is the principal international and long haul departure point, with some gates capable of handling Boeing 747 aircraft.
• The Central Pier, which was part of the original 1966 building, is now used for domestic destinations.
• In addition to being known as "Glasgow International Airport", another name for GLA is "Port-adhair Eadar-nàiseanta Ghlaschu".
• Because of Glasgow International Airport's relatively low elevation of 26 feet, planes can take off or land at Glasgow 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.
• Glasgow International Airport (GLA) currently has only 1 runway.

Facts about MoD St Athan (DGX):

• 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.
• 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.
• 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.
• 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 last aircraft to be serviced at St Athan, a Vickers VC10, departed the site on 23 February 2012.
• MoD St Athan (DGX) currently has only 1 runway.
• 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.