Nonstop flight route between Oviedo, Asturias, Spain and St Athan, Wales, United Kingdom:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Asturias Airport (OVD), Oviedo, Asturias, Spain and MoD St Athan (DGX), St Athan, Wales, United Kingdom would travel a Great Circle distance of 555 miles (or 893 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 Asturias 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 Asturias Airport (OVD):

• In addition to being known as "Asturias Airport", another name for OVD is "Aeropuerto de Asturias".
• In 1980, the airport underwent its first major expansion in preparation for the 1982 football World Cup in Spain.
• The furthest airport from Asturias Airport (OVD) is Christchurch International Airport (CHC), which is nearly antipodal to Asturias Airport (meaning Asturias Airport is almost on the exact opposite side of the Earth from Christchurch International Airport), and is located 12,365 miles (19,899 kilometers) away in Christchurch, New Zealand.
• Because of Asturias Airport's relatively low elevation of 226 feet, planes can take off or land at Asturias 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.
• Asturias Airport (OVD) currently has only 1 runway.
• Asturias airport is located in the parish of Santiago del Monte, municipality of Castrillón, 15 km from Avilés, 40 km from Gijón and 47 km from the regional capital, Oviedo.
• In 2003, a series of improvements were made to the airport, that would enable it to handle a higher volume of passengers and aircraft traffic.
• The closest airport to Asturias Airport (OVD) is León Airport (LEN), which is located 70 miles (113 kilometers) SSE of OVD.

Facts about MoD St Athan (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 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 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.
• 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.
• 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.
• 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 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.
• In 2009 building work was due to commence on a new defence training academy with its heart at St Athan.