Nonstop flight route between Cardiff, Wales, United Kingdom and Tacoma, Washington, United States:
Departure Airport:
Arrival Airport:
Distance from CWL to GRF:
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- About this route
- CWL Airport Information
- GRF Airport Information
- Facts about CWL
- Facts about GRF
- Map of Nearest Airports to CWL
- List of Nearest Airports to CWL
- Map of Furthest Airports from CWL
- List of Furthest Airports from CWL
- Map of Nearest Airports to GRF
- List of Nearest Airports to GRF
- Map of Furthest Airports from GRF
- List of Furthest Airports from GRF
About this route:
A direct, nonstop flight between Cardiff Airport (CWL), Cardiff, Wales, United Kingdom and Gray Army Airfield (GRF), Tacoma, Washington, United States would travel a Great Circle distance of 4,740 miles (or 7,629 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 Cardiff Airport and Gray Army Airfield, 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 Cardiff Airport and Gray Army Airfield. You'll see that it will travel the same route of the red line on this map!
Departure Airport Information:
IATA / ICAO Codes: | CWL / EGFF |
Airport Names: |
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Location: | Cardiff, Wales, United Kingdom |
GPS Coordinates: | 51°23'48"N by 3°20'35"W |
Area Served: | Cardiff South Wales Mid Wales West Wales |
Operator/Owner: | Welsh Government |
Airport Type: | Public |
Elevation: | 220 feet (67 meters) |
# of Runways: | 1 |
View all routes: | Routes from CWL |
More Information: | CWL Maps & Info |
Arrival Airport Information:
IATA / ICAO Codes: | GRF / KGRF |
Airport Names: |
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Location: | Tacoma, Washington, United States |
GPS Coordinates: | 47°4'45"N by 122°34'50"W |
Operator/Owner: | U.S. Army ATCA-ASO |
Airport Type: | Military |
Elevation: | 300 feet (91 meters) |
# of Runways: | 1 |
View all routes: | Routes from GRF |
More Information: | GRF Maps & Info |
Facts about Cardiff Airport (CWL):
- It was announced on 13 April 2011 that Bmibaby were to close their base at the airport, along with their base at Manchester Airport in the following October in order to redeploy aircraft at their other bases, including the creation of a new operation at Belfast City Airport.
- In addition to being known as "Cardiff Airport", another name for CWL is "Maes Awyr Caerdydd".
- The airport was used by 2.1 million passengers in 2008, falling to around 1.1 million passengers in 2013, according to the United Kingdom Civil Aviation Authority, a reduction of nearly 50% since 2008, making it the 21st busiest airport in the UK in terms of passenger numbers.
- In the 1970s, the supersonic airliner Concorde made a few flights into the airport on special occasions.
- The furthest airport from Cardiff Airport (CWL) is Dunedin International Airport (DUD), which is located 11,958 miles (19,244 kilometers) away in Dunedin, Otago, New Zealand.
- As of March 2013, the Welsh Government is in the process of acquiring Cardiff Airport from TBI/Abertis, who may also divest themselves of all their airport assets following international criticism of their management of these resources.
- The closest airport to Cardiff Airport (CWL) is MoD St Athan (DGX), which is located only 4 miles (6 kilometers) W of CWL.
- Cardiff Airport is an international airport owned by the Welsh Government, serving Cardiff and the rest of South, Mid and West Wales.
- The nationalisation of Cardiff Airport was criticised by the owners of Bristol Airport, who claimed that the £52 million paid for the airport was well over market value, and are worried about what they claim is the possibility of state subsidy to Cardiff Airport.
- Cardiff Airport (CWL) currently has only 1 runway.
- Because of Cardiff Airport's relatively low elevation of 220 feet, planes can take off or land at Cardiff 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.
- Cardiff Airport handled 1,072,062 passengers last year.
- On 16 May 2012, it was announced that airport Managing Director, Patrick Duffy, had left his position amid mounting pressure from the Welsh Government on the airport owners Abertis to improve the state of the airport and improve the services it offers, or sell the facility to an investor in a proposed public-private partnership.
Facts about Gray Army Airfield (GRF):
- In addition to being known as "Gray Army Airfield", another name for GRF is "(Joint Base Lewis-McChord)".
- Camp Lewis advocates pushed for it to be a major dirigible and fixed-wing field.
- The Air Transport Command.
- The furthest airport from Gray Army Airfield (GRF) is Tôlanaro Airport (FTU), which is located 10,809 miles (17,395 kilometers) away in Tôlanaro, Madagascar.
- In 1926, the War Department observing aviation expansion overseas requested additional aviation funding.
- The closest airport to Gray Army Airfield (GRF) is McChord Field/McChord AFB (TCM), which is located only 6 miles (10 kilometers) NE of GRF.
- Gray Army Airfield (GRF) currently has only 1 runway.
- August 1984 saw GAAF become one of few test centers for the UH-60 Blackhawk helicopters.
- Because of Gray Army Airfield's relatively low elevation of 300 feet, planes can take off or land at Gray Army Airfield 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.