Nonstop flight route between Santiago de Veraguas, Panama and St Athan, Wales, United Kingdom:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Ruben Cantu Airport (SYP), Santiago de Veraguas, Panama and MoD St Athan (DGX), St Athan, Wales, United Kingdom would travel a Great Circle distance of 5,245 miles (or 8,440 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 Ruben Cantu 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 Ruben Cantu 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 Ruben Cantu Airport (SYP):

• The closest airport to Ruben Cantu Airport (SYP) is Río Hato / Scarlett Martinez Airport (RIH), which is located 59 miles (96 kilometers) ENE of SYP.
• Ruben Cantu Airport (SYP) currently has only 1 runway.
• Because of Ruben Cantu Airport's relatively low elevation of 272 feet, planes can take off or land at Ruben Cantu 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.
• The furthest airport from Ruben Cantu Airport (SYP) is Cocos (Keeling) Island Airport (CCK), which is nearly antipodal to Ruben Cantu Airport (meaning Ruben Cantu Airport is almost on the exact opposite side of the Earth from Cocos (Keeling) Island Airport), and is located 12,115 miles (19,498 kilometers) away in Cocos Islands, Australia.

Facts about MoD St Athan (DGX):

• 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 MOD later decided that DARA's 'Fast Jets' and 'Engines' businesses would close by April 2007, although the 'Large Aircraft' business would continue and, on 14 April 2005, the Project Red Dragon super-hangar opened and DARA moved its VC10 operations from its existing 'Twin Peaks' hangar into the new facility.
• The closest airport to MoD St Athan (DGX) is Cardiff Airport (CWL), which is located only 4 miles (6 kilometers) E of DGX.
• In 2006, the Special Forces Support Group was raised at St Athan and the Welsh Guards returned to London.
• 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.
• MoD St Athan (DGX) currently has only 1 runway.
• During the 1960s, a driving school was established.
• 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.
• The last aircraft to be serviced at St Athan, a Vickers VC10, departed the site on 23 February 2012.