Nonstop flight route between Albuquerque, New Mexico, United States and Cardiff, Wales, United Kingdom:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Albuquerque International Sunport (ABQ), Albuquerque, New Mexico, United States and Cardiff Airport (CWL), Cardiff, Wales, United Kingdom would travel a Great Circle distance of 4,881 miles (or 7,855 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 Albuquerque International Sunport and Cardiff Airport, 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 Albuquerque International Sunport and Cardiff Airport. 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 Albuquerque International Sunport (ABQ):

• Because of Albuquerque International Sunport's high elevation of 5,355 feet, planes must typically fly at a faster airspeed in order to takeoff or land at ABQ. Combined with a high temperature, this could make ABQ a "Hot & High" airport, where the air density is lower than it would otherwise be at sea level.
• In the longer term, the plan calls for a new terminal to be built to the northeast of the existing terminal.
• The closest airport to Albuquerque International Sunport (ABQ) is Santa Fe Municipal Airport (SAF), which is located 50 miles (80 kilometers) NE of ABQ.
• The furthest airport from Albuquerque International Sunport (ABQ) is Sir Gaëtan Duval Airport (RRG), which is located 11,217 miles (18,051 kilometers) away in Rodrigues Island, Mauritius.
• Albuquerque International Sunport handled 5,801,641 passengers last year.
• In addition to being known as "Albuquerque International Sunport", another name for ABQ is "Albuquerque".
• A major new part of Albuquerque called Mesa del Sol is being developed 5 miles south of Albuquerque International Sunport and is planned to house 100,000 inhabitants by 2055.
• The airport's freight center moved 67,000 tons of cargo in 2008.
• Albuquerque International Sunport (ABQ) has 4 runways.
• The Sunport began a new role in 1940 when it was designated Albuquerque Army Air Base, the precursor to today's Kirtland Air Force Base.
• The present terminal was designed by William E.

Facts about Cardiff Airport (CWL):

• Also in 1952 Aer Lingus started a service to Dublin.
• 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.
• In addition to being known as "Cardiff Airport", another name for CWL is "Maes Awyr Caerdydd".
• The closest airport to Cardiff Airport (CWL) is MoD St Athan (DGX), which is located only 4 miles (6 kilometers) W of CWL.
• 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.
• Cardiff Airport (CWL) currently has only 1 runway.
• The airport is not only the main maintenance base for British Airways but also home to a variety of aerospace-oriented firms and colleges, and therefore a major contributor to the economic development of the region.
• 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.
• On 2 March 2009 the airport management revealed a name change for the airport along with initial development plans to improve the image of the facility.
• In 2012, the airport ran into a barrage of sustained criticism from the First Minister of Wales, Carwyn Jones.
• Cardiff Airport was owned by a private company Cardiff International Airport Limited which, in turn was wholly owned by TBI Ltd a former public company which is 90% owned by the Spanish conglomerate Abertis and 10% by Aena International - the world's largest airport operator.
• Cardiff Airport handled 1,072,062 passengers last year.