Nonstop flight route between Windsor Locks (near Hartford), Connecticut, United States and Cardiff, Wales, United Kingdom:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Bradley International Airport (BDL), Windsor Locks (near Hartford), Connecticut, United States and Cardiff Airport (CWL), Cardiff, Wales, United Kingdom would travel a Great Circle distance of 3,225 miles (or 5,191 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 Bradley International Airport 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 Bradley International Airport 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 Bradley International Airport (BDL):

• Because of Bradley International Airport's relatively low elevation of 173 feet, planes can take off or land at Bradley International 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 1950 Bradley International Airport exceeded the 100,000-passenger mark, handling 108,348 annual passengers.
• Bradley International Airport covers 2,432 acres at an elevation of 173 feet above mean sea level.
• In 1979, a tornado ripped through Windsor Locks, wreaking destruction along the eastern portions of the airport.
• Bradley International Airport (BDL) has 3 runways.
• On October 7, 2008, Embraer, an aerospace company based in Brazil, selected Bradley as its service center for the Northeastern United States.
• The closest airport to Bradley International Airport (BDL) is Rentschler Heliport (EHT), which is located only 13 miles (21 kilometers) SSE of BDL.
• The furthest airport from Bradley International Airport (BDL) is Margaret River Airport (MGV), which is located 11,740 miles (18,894 kilometers) away in Margaret River, Western Australia, Australia.

Facts about Cardiff Airport (CWL):

• 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.
• The Welsh Conservative Party said that the nationalisation of Cardiff Airport by the Welsh Labour Government was a socialist vanity project and that the money should have been spent on public services.
• In 2007 a new airline was mooted as a new home carrier at the airport.
• Cardiff Airport is an international airport owned by the Welsh Government, serving Cardiff and the rest of South, Mid and West Wales.
• 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.
• 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.
• Cardiff Airport (CWL) currently has only 1 runway.
• 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.
• 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.
• 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 history of the airport extends back to the early 1940s, when the Air Ministry requisitioned land in the rural Vale of Glamorgan to set up a wartime satellite aerodrome and training base, named RAF Rhoose, for Royal Air Force Spitfire pilots.
• In addition to being known as "Cardiff Airport", another name for CWL is "Maes Awyr Caerdydd".