Nonstop flight route between Rottnest Island, Western Australia, Australia and St Athan, Wales, United Kingdom:
Departure Airport:
Arrival Airport:
Distance from RTS to DGX:
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- About this route
- RTS Airport Information
- DGX Airport Information
- Facts about RTS
- Facts about DGX
- Map of Nearest Airports to RTS
- List of Nearest Airports to RTS
- Map of Furthest Airports from RTS
- List of Furthest Airports from RTS
- Map of Nearest Airports to DGX
- List of Nearest Airports to DGX
- Map of Furthest Airports from DGX
- List of Furthest Airports from DGX
About this route:
A direct, nonstop flight between Rottnest Airport (RTS), Rottnest Island, Western Australia, Australia and MoD St Athan (DGX), St Athan, Wales, United Kingdom would travel a Great Circle distance of 9,128 miles (or 14,690 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 Rottnest 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 Rottnest 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:
IATA / ICAO Codes: | RTS / YRTI |
Airport Name: | Rottnest Airport |
Location: | Rottnest Island, Western Australia, Australia |
GPS Coordinates: | 32°0'24"S by 115°32'22"E |
Operator/Owner: | Rottnest Island Authority |
Airport Type: | Public |
Elevation: | 12 feet (4 meters) |
# of Runways: | 1 |
View all routes: | Routes from RTS |
More Information: | RTS Maps & Info |
Arrival Airport Information:
IATA / ICAO Codes: | DGX / EGDX |
Airport Name: | MoD St Athan |
Location: | St Athan, Wales, United Kingdom |
GPS Coordinates: | 51°24'16"N by 3°26'8"W |
Operator/Owner: | Ministry of Defence |
Airport Type: | Military |
Elevation: | 163 feet (50 meters) |
# of Runways: | 1 |
View all routes: | Routes from DGX |
More Information: | DGX Maps & Info |
Facts about Rottnest Airport (RTS):
- Because of Rottnest Airport's relatively low elevation of 12 feet, planes can take off or land at Rottnest 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.
- MacRobertson Miller Airlines took over services after Wood's Airways using both DC-3 and Fokker F27 Friendship, until the route became uneconomical.
- Woods Airways which was run by pioneer aviator Jimmy Woods, operated the Perth to Rottnest service from about 1948 with two war-surplus Royal Australian Air Force Avro Anson aircraft.
- The closest airport to Rottnest Airport (RTS) is Jandakot Airport (JAD), which is located 21 miles (34 kilometers) ESE of RTS.
- Rottnest Airport (RTS) currently has only 1 runway.
- The furthest airport from Rottnest Airport (RTS) is L.F. Wade International Airport (BDA), which is nearly antipodal to Rottnest Airport (meaning Rottnest Airport is almost on the exact opposite side of the Earth from L.F. Wade International Airport), and is located 12,409 miles (19,970 kilometers) away in Ferry Reach (near Hamilton), Bermuda.
Facts about MoD St Athan (DGX):
- MOD St Athan is a large Ministry of Defence unit near the village of St Athan in the Vale of Glamorgan, southern Wales.
- 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.
- 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.
- RAF St Athan was also home for the Royal Air Force Administrative Apprentice Training School.
- 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.
- The last aircraft to be serviced at St Athan, a Vickers VC10, departed the site on 23 February 2012.
- In 2006, the Special Forces Support Group was raised at St Athan and the Welsh Guards returned to London.
- 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.
- 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.
- 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.
- MoD St Athan (DGX) currently has only 1 runway.