Nonstop flight route between Cardiff, Wales, United Kingdom and Marysville, California, United States:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Cardiff Airport (CWL), Cardiff, Wales, United Kingdom and Beale Air Force Base (BAB), Marysville, California, United States would travel a Great Circle distance of 5,155 miles (or 8,296 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 Beale Air Force Base, 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 Beale Air Force Base. 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.
• 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 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.
• 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 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.
• 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.
• 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.
• On 1 April 1965 the Ministry of Aviation handed over the airport to Glamorgan County Council and it was renamed Glamorgan Airport.
• In addition to being known as "Cardiff Airport", another name for CWL is "Maes Awyr Caerdydd".
• 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.

Facts about Beale Air Force Base (BAB):

• The Air Force activated the 851st Strategic Missile Squadron on 1 April 1961.
• In 1962, in order to retain the lineage of its MAJCOM 4-digit combat units and to perpetuate the lineage of many currently inactive bombardment units with illustrious World War II records, Headquarters SAC received authority from Headquarters USAF to discontinue its MAJCOM strategic wings that were equipped with combat aircraft and to activate AFCON units, most of which were inactive at the time which could carry a lineage and history.
• The closest airport to Beale Air Force Base (BAB) is Yuba County Airport (MYV), which is located only 8 miles (12 kilometers) WSW of BAB.
• The 9th Reconnaissance Wing is composed of four groups at Beale and various overseas operating locations.
• At Beale, the 17th continued global strategic bombardment alert to 30 June 1976 when it was inactivated as part of the phaseout of the B-52 at Beale.
• DC-18 was initially under the San Francisco Air Defense Sector, established on 15 February 1959.
• In addition to being known as "Beale Air Force Base", another name for BAB is "Beale AFB".
• The furthest airport from Beale Air Force Base (BAB) is Tôlanaro Airport (FTU), which is located 11,251 miles (18,107 kilometers) away in Tôlanaro, Madagascar.