Nonstop flight route between Cardiff, Wales, United Kingdom and Asmara, Eritrea:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Cardiff Airport (CWL), Cardiff, Wales, United Kingdom and Asmara International Airport (ASM), Asmara, Eritrea would travel a Great Circle distance of 3,409 miles (or 5,486 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 Asmara International 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 Cardiff Airport and Asmara International 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 Cardiff Airport (CWL):

• Cardiff Airport handled 1,072,062 passengers last year.
• 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.
• In the 1970s, the supersonic airliner Concorde made a few flights into the airport on special occasions.
• 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 has also had several problems with wild fly-grazing horses around the airfield and the Redwings Sanctuary in Norfolk were needed to assist in the rescue of 23 unclaimed horses that had been left on the site.
• 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.
• 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.
• 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.
• Cardiff Airport (CWL) currently has only 1 runway.

Facts about Asmara International Airport (ASM):

• Asmara International Airport, formerly known as Yohannes IV International Airport, is an airport in Asmara, the capital of Eritrea.
• Asmara International Airport (ASM) has 2 runways.
• In 2004, the airport served 136,526 passengers.
• The closest airport to Asmara International Airport (ASM) is Massawa International Airport (MSW), which is located 41 miles (66 kilometers) NE of ASM.
• The furthest airport from Asmara International Airport (ASM) is Fangatau Airport (FGU), which is nearly antipodal to Asmara International Airport (meaning Asmara International Airport is almost on the exact opposite side of the Earth from Fangatau Airport), and is located 12,398 miles (19,952 kilometers) away in Fangatau, French Polynesia.
• Because of Asmara International Airport's high elevation of 7,661 feet, planes must typically fly at a faster airspeed in order to takeoff or land at ASM. Combined with a high temperature, this could make ASM a "Hot & High" airport, where the air density is lower than it would otherwise be at sea level.
• During World War II, the airport was nearly destroyed by the British.
• On 7 July 1935, an agreement was signed with Imperial Airways to connect Asmara to Khartoum.
• Asmara International Airport has capacity restrictions due to its small terminal, short runway and 1.5-mile altitude.