Nonstop flight route between Birjand, Iran and St Athan, Wales, United Kingdom:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Birjand International Airport (XBJ), Birjand, Iran and MoD St Athan (DGX), St Athan, Wales, United Kingdom would travel a Great Circle distance of 3,340 miles (or 5,375 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 Birjand 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 Birjand 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 Birjand International Airport (XBJ):

• In addition to being known as "Birjand International Airport", another name for XBJ is "فرودگاه بین المللی بیرجند".
• The furthest airport from Birjand International Airport (XBJ) is Mataveri International Airport (IPC), which is located 11,653 miles (18,754 kilometers) away in Easter Island, Chile.
• In February 2012, Birjand International Airport saw the first traffic by a large aircraft, Iran Air's Airbus 300, on a test flight in order to prepare for Hajj traffic.
• Because of Birjand International Airport's high elevation of 4,952 feet, planes must typically fly at a faster airspeed in order to takeoff or land at XBJ. Combined with a high temperature, this could make XBJ a "Hot & High" airport, where the air density is lower than it would otherwise be at sea level.
• Birjand International Airport (XBJ) has 2 runways.
• The closest airport to Birjand International Airport (XBJ) is Tabas Airport (TCX), which is located 147 miles (237 kilometers) WNW of XBJ.
• Birjand Airport has since opened a second passenger terminal to for the increasing number of passengers.

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 closest airport to MoD St Athan (DGX) is Cardiff Airport (CWL), which is located only 4 miles (6 kilometers) E of DGX.
• 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 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 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 two cadet passengers were cousins and were named as Katie Jo Davies, 15, and Nikitta Walters, 14.
• 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.
• MoD St Athan (DGX) currently has only 1 runway.
• During the 1960s, a driving school was established.
• The last aircraft to be serviced at St Athan, a Vickers VC10, departed the site on 23 February 2012.