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

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Zabré Airport (XZA), Zabré, Burkina Faso and MoD St Athan (DGX), St Athan, Wales, United Kingdom would travel a Great Circle distance of 2,785 miles (or 4,482 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 Zabré 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 Zabré 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 Zabré Airport (XZA):

• Because of Zabré Airport's relatively low elevation of 886 feet, planes can take off or land at Zabré 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 Zabré Airport (XZA) is Funafuti International Airport (FUN), which is nearly antipodal to Zabré Airport (meaning Zabré Airport is almost on the exact opposite side of the Earth from Funafuti International Airport), and is located 12,254 miles (19,721 kilometers) away in Funafuti, Tuvalu.
• The closest airport to Zabré Airport (XZA) is Pô Airport (PUP), which is located 36 miles (58 kilometers) W of XZA.

Facts about MoD St Athan (DGX):

• 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.
• 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.
• 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.
• MoD St Athan (DGX) currently has only 1 runway.
• 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.
• In 2009 building work was due to commence on a new defence training academy with its heart at St Athan.
• 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.
• The station officially opened as RAF St Athan on 1 September 1938 and the first unit to take up residence was No 4 School of Technical Training.
• The last aircraft to be serviced at St Athan, a Vickers VC10, departed the site on 23 February 2012.