Nonstop flight route between Cardiff, Wales, United Kingdom and Daocheng, Sichuan, China:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Cardiff Airport (CWL), Cardiff, Wales, United Kingdom and Daocheng Yading Airport (DCY), Daocheng, Sichuan, China would travel a Great Circle distance of 5,191 miles (or 8,354 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 Daocheng Yading 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 Daocheng Yading 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):

• The closest airport to Cardiff Airport (CWL) is MoD St Athan (DGX), which is located only 4 miles (6 kilometers) W of CWL.
• In addition to being known as "Cardiff Airport", another name for CWL is "Maes Awyr Caerdydd".
• In 2006 the Irish low cost carrier Ryanair withdrew from the airport ending 5 years of service on the Cardiff to Dublin route daily.
• 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.
• 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.
• 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.
• Cardiff Airport handled 1,072,062 passengers last year.
• 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 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.
• The man who decided Rhoose could be the site of a new Airport was David Rees-Williams a Bridgend-born solicitor who had served as a Lieutenant-Colonel in the Royal Artillery during the WW2 and who.
• Cardiff Airport (CWL) currently has only 1 runway.
• 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.
• In early December 2013 Flybe announced it would drop its Paris and Glasgow services with effect from January 2014.
• 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.

Facts about Daocheng Yading Airport (DCY):

• Daocheng Yading Airport (DCY) currently has only 1 runway.
• Construction started after the airport was approved in April 2011, with a total investment of 1.58 billion yuan.
• Because of Daocheng Yading Airport's high elevation of 14,472 feet, planes must typically fly at a faster airspeed in order to takeoff or land at DCY. Combined with a high temperature, this could make DCY a "Hot & High" airport, where the air density is lower than it would otherwise be at sea level.
• The closest airport to Daocheng Yading Airport (DCY) is Dêqên Shangri-La Airport (DIG), which is located 108 miles (174 kilometers) SSW of DCY.
• In addition to being known as "Daocheng Yading Airport", other names for DCY include "稻城亚丁机场", "Dàochéng Yàdīng Jīchǎng" and "ZUDC".
• At 4,411 m above sea level, Daocheng Yading is the world's highest civilian airport, surpassing the previous record holder Qamdo Bamda Airport, in Tibet, at 4,334 m.
• The furthest airport from Daocheng Yading Airport (DCY) is La Florida Airport (LSC), which is located 11,910 miles (19,167 kilometers) away in La Serena, Chile.