Nonstop flight route between Port Macquarie, New South Wales, Australia and St Athan, Wales, United Kingdom:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Port Macquarie Airport (PQQ), Port Macquarie, New South Wales, Australia and MoD St Athan (DGX), St Athan, Wales, United Kingdom would travel a Great Circle distance of 10,606 miles (or 17,069 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 Port Macquarie 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 Port Macquarie 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 Port Macquarie Airport (PQQ):

• The furthest airport from Port Macquarie Airport (PQQ) is Santa Maria Airport (SMA), which is nearly antipodal to Port Macquarie Airport (meaning Port Macquarie Airport is almost on the exact opposite side of the Earth from Santa Maria Airport), and is located 12,038 miles (19,373 kilometers) away in Santa Maria, Portugal.
• Port Macquarie Airport (PQQ) has 2 runways.
• Competition by Virgin resulted in a significant drop in fare prices for the Port Macquarie - Sydney route, where Qantas previously operated a monopoly after Hazelton Airlines ceased services in 2001.
• Port Macquarie Airport handled 218,897 passengers last year.
• Because of Port Macquarie Airport's relatively low elevation of 15 feet, planes can take off or land at Port Macquarie 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.
• On 28 July 2011, Virgin Australia announced its intention to commence a daily Brisbane to Port Macquarie service from October 2011.
• The closest airport to Port Macquarie Airport (PQQ) is Kempsey Airport (KPS), which is located 26 miles (41 kilometers) NNW of PQQ.

Facts about MoD St Athan (DGX):

• 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.
• MoD St Athan (DGX) currently has only 1 runway.
• 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.
• 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.
• 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.
• The closest airport to MoD St Athan (DGX) is Cardiff Airport (CWL), which is located only 4 miles (6 kilometers) E of DGX.
• 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.
• In March 2003 it was confirmed that a new hi-tech maintenance centre would be built, creating 3,300 jobs.