Nonstop flight route between Zhaotong, Yunnan, China and St Athan, Wales, United Kingdom:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Zhaotong Airport (ZAT), Zhaotong, Yunnan, China and MoD St Athan (DGX), St Athan, Wales, United Kingdom would travel a Great Circle distance of 5,441 miles (or 8,757 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 Zhaotong 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 Zhaotong 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 Zhaotong Airport (ZAT):

• The closest airport to Zhaotong Airport (ZAT) is Bijie Feixiong Airport (BFJ), which is located 95 miles (153 kilometers) E of ZAT.
• The furthest airport from Zhaotong Airport (ZAT) is Chañaral Airport (CNR), which is nearly antipodal to Zhaotong Airport (meaning Zhaotong Airport is almost on the exact opposite side of the Earth from Chañaral Airport), and is located 12,083 miles (19,445 kilometers) away in Chañaral, Atacama Region, Chile.
• In addition to being known as "Zhaotong Airport", other names for ZAT include "昭通机场" and "Zhāotōng Jīchǎng".

Facts about MoD St Athan (DGX):

• MoD St Athan (DGX) currently has only 1 runway.
• The closest airport to MoD St Athan (DGX) is Cardiff Airport (CWL), which is located only 4 miles (6 kilometers) E of DGX.
• 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.
• 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.
• 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 MOD continued to negotiate the project with the Metrix Consortium, but the price rose several times, reaching £14 billion in mid-2009.
• 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.
• 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.