Nonstop flight route between Celle, Germany and St Athan, Wales, United Kingdom:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Celle Air Base (ZCN), Celle, Germany and MoD St Athan (DGX), St Athan, Wales, United Kingdom would travel a Great Circle distance of 577 miles (or 929 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 relatively short distance between Celle Air Base and MoD St Athan, the route shown on this map most likely still appears to be a straight line.

Departure Airport Information:

Arrival Airport Information:

Facts about Celle Air Base (ZCN):

• Celle Air Base (ZCN) currently has only 1 runway.
• At the beginning of World War II the training school was relocated to Leipzig and Celle Air Base was used by varying units, none of which were stationed there for any long period of time.
• From 1959 until 1966, a US Air Force unit equipped with two MSQ-1A radar was stationed at Celle Air Base.
• In addition to being known as "Celle Air Base", other names for ZCN include "Heeresflugplatz Celle" and "(Advanced Landing Ground B-118)".
• Until the end of World War II the airfield operated under the name of Fliegerhorst Celle-Wietzenbruch.
• The closest airport to Celle Air Base (ZCN) is Hannover Airport (HAJ), which is located only 17 miles (27 kilometers) WSW of ZCN.
• Following the end of the Berlin Airlift in 1949, the airfield was again used exclusively by British Forces.
• The Treaty of Versailles in 1919 prohibited the German Reich to have her own air force.
• The furthest airport from Celle Air Base (ZCN) is Chatham Islands (CHT), which is located 11,761 miles (18,928 kilometers) away in Waitangi, Chatham Islands, New Zealand.
• The infrastructure for a renewed airlift, however, was kept in place and was constantly improved until German reunification.
• Because of Celle Air Base's relatively low elevation of 129 feet, planes can take off or land at Celle Air Base 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):

• 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 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 closest airport to MoD St Athan (DGX) is Cardiff Airport (CWL), which is located only 4 miles (6 kilometers) E of DGX.
• The last aircraft to be serviced at St Athan, a Vickers VC10, departed the site on 23 February 2012.
• 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.
• In March 2003 it was confirmed that a new hi-tech maintenance centre would be built, creating 3,300 jobs.
• 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.