Nonstop flight route between Piarco (near Port of Spain), Trinidad and Tobago and St Athan, Wales, United Kingdom:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Piarco International Airport (POS), Piarco (near Port of Spain), Trinidad and Tobago and MoD St Athan (DGX), St Athan, Wales, United Kingdom would travel a Great Circle distance of 4,283 miles (or 6,894 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 Piarco 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 Piarco 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 Piarco International Airport (POS):

• In World War II the original airfield was used to house the Royal Navy Observer School HMS Goshawk.
• The closest airport to Piarco International Airport (POS) is A.N.R. Robinson International Airport (TAB), which is located 51 miles (83 kilometers) NE of POS.
• In addition to being known as "Piarco International Airport", another name for POS is "78970[1][2]".
• In addition to passenger airlines, the airport also handles cargo traffic, general aviation, military and helicopter flights to the many oil rigs present offshore.
• The furthest airport from Piarco International Airport (POS) is Umbu Mehang Kunda Airport (WGP), which is nearly antipodal to Piarco International Airport (meaning Piarco International Airport is almost on the exact opposite side of the Earth from Umbu Mehang Kunda Airport), and is located 12,308 miles (19,808 kilometers) away in Waingapu, Sumba, East Nusa Tenggara, Indonesia.
• An administrative/operations building for the Trinidad and Tobago Air Guard is being constructed at the Piarco Air Base.
• Piarco International Airport (POS) currently has only 1 runway.
• Because of Piarco International Airport's relatively low elevation of 58 feet, planes can take off or land at Piarco 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.

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.
• 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.
• The MOD continued to negotiate the project with the Metrix Consortium, but the price rose several times, reaching £14 billion in mid-2009.
• In 2009 building work was due to commence on a new defence training academy with its heart at St Athan.
• 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.
• The training to be carried out at St Athan was to be specialist phase 2 and phase 3 engineering courses of the Royal Navy, Army and Royal Air Force.
• 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.
• 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.
• 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.
• MoD St Athan (DGX) currently has only 1 runway.