Nonstop flight route between Alexander City, Alabama, United States and Cardiff, Wales, United Kingdom:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Thomas C. Russell Field (ALX), Alexander City, Alabama, United States and Cardiff Airport (CWL), Cardiff, Wales, United Kingdom would travel a Great Circle distance of 4,182 miles (or 6,731 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 Thomas C. Russell Field 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 Thomas C. Russell Field 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 Thomas C. Russell Field (ALX):

• Because of Thomas C. Russell Field's relatively low elevation of 686 feet, planes can take off or land at Thomas C. Russell Field 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.
• The furthest airport from Thomas C. Russell Field (ALX) is Margaret River Airport (MGV), which is located 11,222 miles (18,060 kilometers) away in Margaret River, Western Australia, Australia.
• The closest airport to Thomas C. Russell Field (ALX) is Sharpe FieldTuskegee Army Airfield (TGE), which is located 31 miles (50 kilometers) SSE of ALX.
• Thomas C. Russell Field (ALX) currently has only 1 runway.

Facts about Cardiff Airport (CWL):

• The man who decided Rhoose could be the site of a new Airport was David Rees-Williams a Bridgend-born solicitor who had served as a Lieutenant-Colonel in the Royal Artillery during the WW2 and who.
• In addition to being known as "Cardiff Airport", another name for CWL is "Maes Awyr Caerdydd".
• In April 1995, due to planned Local Government re-organisation in Wales, the Airport Company was privatised, with shares being sold to property and development firm, TBI plc, which has now been converted back to a private company called TBI Ltd and is concessionary to Orlando Sanford International Airport.
• 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 handled 1,072,062 passengers last year.
• In December 1995, Heli-air Wales began training Helicopter Pilots from the Airport's southside, and are widely accredited with pioneering Helicopter Training in Wales.
• 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.
• 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.
• 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.
• Rees-Williams thought diverting the river at Pengam would be a problem, and feared that the tall chimney stacks of the nearby East Moors Steelworks could pose a safety hazard to aircraft.
• 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.
• 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.
• Cardiff Airport is an international airport owned by the Welsh Government, serving Cardiff and the rest of South, Mid and West Wales.