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

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Tokyo International Airport (HND), Tokyo, Honshū, Japan and MoD St Athan (DGX), St Athan, Wales, United Kingdom would travel a Great Circle distance of 6,028 miles (or 9,702 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 Tokyo 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 Tokyo 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 Tokyo International Airport (HND):

• Tokyo International Airport (HND) has 4 runways.
• The closest airport to Tokyo International Airport (HND) is Narita International Airport (NRT), which is located 37 miles (59 kilometers) ENE of HND.
• The furthest airport from Tokyo International Airport (HND) is Diomício Freitas/Forquilhinha Airport (CCM), which is located 11,722 miles (18,864 kilometers) away in Criciúma, Santa Catarina, Brazil.
• Before the construction of Haneda Airport, aviators in Tokyo used various beaches of Tokyo Bay as airstrips, including beaches near the current site of Haneda.
• In October 2006, Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe and Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao reached an informal agreement to launch bilateral talks regarding an additional city-to-city service between Haneda and Shanghai Hongqiao International Airport.
• In addition to being known as "Tokyo International Airport", other names for HND include "東京国際空港" and "Tōkyō Kokusai Kūkō".
• Because of Tokyo International Airport's relatively low elevation of 21 feet, planes can take off or land at Tokyo 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.
• Haneda Airport is open 24 hours.
• Macquarie Bank and Macquarie Airports owned a 19.9% stake in Japan Airport Terminal until 2009, when they sold their stake back to the company.
• While most international flights moved from Haneda to Narita in 1978, airlines based in the Republic of China continued to use Haneda Airport for many years due to the ongoing political conflict between the Republic of China and the People's Republic of China.

Facts about MoD St Athan (DGX):

• RAF St Athan was also home for the Royal Air Force Administrative Apprentice Training School.
• 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 2009 building work was due to commence on a new defence training academy with its heart at St Athan.
• The closest airport to MoD St Athan (DGX) is Cardiff Airport (CWL), which is located only 4 miles (6 kilometers) E of DGX.
• MoD St Athan (DGX) currently has only 1 runway.
• Just before 1100 GMT on 11 February 2009, two Grob Tutor aircraft flying out of St Athan were involved in a mid-air collision in which two Air Training Corps cadets and their instructors, both RAF pilots, died.
• 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.
• 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.
• 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.