Nonstop flight route between Fort Bliss, El Paso, Texas, United States and Cardiff, Wales, United Kingdom:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Biggs Army Airfield (BIF), Fort Bliss, El Paso, Texas, United States and Cardiff Airport (CWL), Cardiff, Wales, United Kingdom would travel a Great Circle distance of 5,042 miles (or 8,114 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 Biggs Army Airfield 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 Biggs Army Airfield 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 Biggs Army Airfield (BIF):

• The closest airport to Biggs Army Airfield (BIF) is El Paso International Airport (ELP), which is located only 3 miles (5 kilometers) S of BIF.
• The furthest airport from Biggs Army Airfield (BIF) is Sir Gaëtan Duval Airport (RRG), which is located 11,387 miles (18,325 kilometers) away in Rodrigues Island, Mauritius.
• In addition to being known as "Biggs Army Airfield", another name for BIF is "Biggs Air Force BaseBiggs Field".
• Along with the B-50-equipped 97th Bomb Wing, Strategic Air Command established the 95th Bombardment Wing at Biggs in June 1952 and planned to base its heavy B-36 Peacemaker heavy bomber at the base.
• In 1920 Camp Owen Bierne opened on the site of the current airbase as a base for airship operations but the units were soon disbanded.
• With the activation of TAC, the new command assigned Headquarters, Ninth Air Force to Biggs on 28 March upon its return from Germany.
• Biggs Army Airfield (BIF) currently has only 1 runway.
• Prior to the takeover of Biggs by SAC in October 1948, it had previously moved the B-29 Superfortress-equipped 97th Bombardment Group to the base in May.

Facts about Cardiff Airport (CWL):

• It was announced on 28 October 2011, that Spanish low-cost carrier Vueling are to open a new route to Barcelona commencing 27 March 2012 operating the route three times per week.
• 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.
• On 27 March 2013, the Welsh Government announced it had purchased the Cardiff International Airport Ltd from TBI Ltd as a going concern for £52,000,000.
• 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 2006 the Irish low cost carrier Ryanair withdrew from the airport ending 5 years of service on the Cardiff to Dublin route daily.
• In addition to being known as "Cardiff Airport", another name for CWL is "Maes Awyr Caerdydd".
• Also in 1952 Aer Lingus started a service to Dublin.
• Cardiff Airport (CWL) currently has only 1 runway.
• 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.
• The closest airport to Cardiff Airport (CWL) is MoD St Athan (DGX), which is located only 4 miles (6 kilometers) W of CWL.
• 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.
• 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.
• 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.
• Cardiff Airport handled 1,072,062 passengers last year.