Nonstop flight route between Cardiff, Wales, United Kingdom and Colorado Springs, Colorado, United States:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Cardiff Airport (CWL), Cardiff, Wales, United Kingdom and City of Colorado Springs Municipal Airport (COS), Colorado Springs, Colorado, United States would travel a Great Circle distance of 4,615 miles (or 7,427 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 City of Colorado Springs Municipal 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 City of Colorado Springs Municipal 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):

• 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.
• In 2006 the Irish low cost carrier Ryanair withdrew from the airport ending 5 years of service on the Cardiff to Dublin route daily.
• 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 (CWL) currently has only 1 runway.
• 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 closest airport to Cardiff Airport (CWL) is MoD St Athan (DGX), which is located only 4 miles (6 kilometers) W of CWL.
• 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.
• The First Minister's criticism was roundly rejected by Alex Cruz, chief executive of Vueling - a Spanish airline which operates regular flights from Cardiff.
• In addition to being known as "Cardiff Airport", another name for CWL is "Maes Awyr Caerdydd".

Facts about City of Colorado Springs Municipal Airport (COS):

• City of Colorado Springs Municipal Airport (COS) has 3 runways.
• In 1927 the airport opened on 640 acres seven miles east of the city, with two gravel runways.
• Because of City of Colorado Springs Municipal Airport's high elevation of 6,187 feet, planes must typically fly at a faster airspeed in order to takeoff or land at COS. Combined with a high temperature, this could make COS a "Hot & High" airport, where the air density is lower than it would otherwise be at sea level.
• Since September 2011 the airport terminal has been under renovation, that includes reconstruction of the TSA checkpoint to support full body scanners, expansion of office space behind the ticket counters, and new facilities for automated baggage screening.
• The closest airport to City of Colorado Springs Municipal Airport (COS) is United States Air Force Academy (AFF), which is located only 15 miles (25 kilometers) NNW of COS.
• The furthest airport from City of Colorado Springs Municipal Airport (COS) is Sir Gaëtan Duval Airport (RRG), which is located 10,940 miles (17,606 kilometers) away in Rodrigues Island, Mauritius.
• Repairs to runway 17L/35R, first scheduled for 2011 but delayed by the FAA shutdown, will begin in spring 2012.