Nonstop flight route between Hiroshima, Honshū, Japan and St Athan, Wales, United Kingdom:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Hiroshima Airport (HIJ), Hiroshima, Honshū, Japan and MoD St Athan (DGX), St Athan, Wales, United Kingdom would travel a Great Circle distance of 5,942 miles (or 9,563 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 Hiroshima 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 Hiroshima 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 Hiroshima Airport (HIJ):

• Unusually among major Japanese airports, Hiroshima Airport has no railway station.
• The furthest airport from Hiroshima Airport (HIJ) is Rio Grande Regional Airport (RIG), which is nearly antipodal to Hiroshima Airport (meaning Hiroshima Airport is almost on the exact opposite side of the Earth from Rio Grande Regional Airport), and is located 12,101 miles (19,475 kilometers) away in Rio Grande, Brazil.
• The closest airport to Hiroshima Airport (HIJ) is Matsuyama Airport (MYJ), which is located 44 miles (71 kilometers) SSW of HIJ.
• Hiroshima has one terminal with separated departures and arrivals facilities for domestic and international flights and seven lettered gates.
• Hiroshima Airport (HIJ) currently has only 1 runway.
• In addition to being known as "Hiroshima Airport", other names for HIJ include "広島空港" and "Hiroshima Kūkō".

Facts about MoD St Athan (DGX):

• RAF St Athan was also home for the Royal Air Force Administrative Apprentice Training School.
• The new academy was claimed to create up to 5000 jobs at St Athan with a £14 billion investment over 25 years with an estimated £57.4 million spent into the local economy.
• In March 2003 it was confirmed that a new hi-tech maintenance centre would be built, creating 3,300 jobs.
• The closest airport to MoD St Athan (DGX) is Cardiff Airport (CWL), which is located only 4 miles (6 kilometers) E of DGX.
• 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.
• 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.
• 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.
• 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.
• MoD St Athan (DGX) currently has only 1 runway.