Nonstop flight route between Yasawa Island, Fiji and St Athan, Wales, United Kingdom:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Yasawa Island Airport (YAS), Yasawa Island, Fiji and MoD St Athan (DGX), St Athan, Wales, United Kingdom would travel a Great Circle distance of 10,042 miles (or 16,162 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 Yasawa Island 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 Yasawa Island 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 Yasawa Island Airport (YAS):

• The furthest airport from Yasawa Island Airport (YAS) is Timbuktu Airport (TOM), which is nearly antipodal to Yasawa Island Airport (meaning Yasawa Island Airport is almost on the exact opposite side of the Earth from Timbuktu Airport), and is located 12,400 miles (19,956 kilometers) away in Timbuktu, Mali.
• Yasawa Island Airport (YAS) currently has only 1 runway.
• The closest airport to Yasawa Island Airport (YAS) is Nadi International Airport (NAN), which is located 69 miles (111 kilometers) S of YAS.
• Because of Yasawa Island Airport's relatively low elevation of 10 feet, planes can take off or land at Yasawa Island 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.

Facts about MoD St Athan (DGX):

• 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 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 MOD continued to negotiate the project with the Metrix Consortium, but the price rose several times, reaching £14 billion in mid-2009.
• In 2009 building work was due to commence on a new defence training academy with its heart at St Athan.
• The new academy was claimed to create up to 5000 jobs at St Athan with a £14 billion investment over 25 years with an estimated £57.4 million spent into the local economy.
• 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.
• 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.
• During the 1960s, a driving school was established.
• During the war a dummy airfield was built using wood and cardboard a few miles west of the original airfield and successful efforts were made to hide the proper field.
• 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.