Nonstop flight route between Pama, Burkina Faso and St Athan, Wales, United Kingdom:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Pama Airport (XPA), Pama, Burkina Faso and MoD St Athan (DGX), St Athan, Wales, United Kingdom would travel a Great Circle distance of 2,784 miles (or 4,480 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 Pama 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 Pama 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 Pama Airport (XPA):

• Pama Airport (XPA) currently has only 1 runway.
• The closest airport to Pama Airport (XPA) is Arly Airport (ARL), which is located 58 miles (93 kilometers) ENE of XPA.
• In addition to being known as "Pama Airport", another name for XPA is "Pama Airport (Pama)".
• Because of Pama Airport's relatively low elevation of 699 feet, planes can take off or land at Pama 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 Pama Airport (XPA) is Funafuti International Airport (FUN), which is nearly antipodal to Pama Airport (meaning Pama Airport is almost on the exact opposite side of the Earth from Funafuti International Airport), and is located 12,222 miles (19,670 kilometers) away in Funafuti, Tuvalu.

Facts about MoD St Athan (DGX):

• The MOD continued to negotiate the project with the Metrix Consortium, but the price rose several times, reaching £14 billion in mid-2009.
• 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.
• 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.
• 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.
• 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 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.