Nonstop flight route between Cardiff, Wales, United Kingdom and Decatur, Illinois, United States:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Cardiff Airport (CWL), Cardiff, Wales, United Kingdom and Decatur Airport (DEC), Decatur, Illinois, United States would travel a Great Circle distance of 3,970 miles (or 6,388 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 Decatur 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 Decatur 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):

• In the 1970s, the supersonic airliner Concorde made a few flights into the airport on special occasions.
• 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.
• 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.
• 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.
• In early December 2013 Flybe announced it would drop its Paris and Glasgow services with effect from January 2014.
• 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.
• In addition to being known as "Cardiff Airport", another name for CWL is "Maes Awyr Caerdydd".
• On 2 March 2009 the airport management revealed a name change for the airport along with initial development plans to improve the image of the facility.
• Cardiff Airport handled 1,072,062 passengers last year.
• 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.

Facts about Decatur Airport (DEC):

• The closest airport to Decatur Airport (DEC) is University of Illinois Willard Airport (CMI), which is located 34 miles (55 kilometers) ENE of DEC.
• Decatur Airport (DEC) has 3 runways.
• The Illinois Army National Guard has an Army Aviation Support Facility at the airport.
• The furthest airport from Decatur Airport (DEC) is Margaret River Airport (MGV), which is located 11,056 miles (17,793 kilometers) away in Margaret River, Western Australia, Australia.
• Decatur Airport has a 24,000 square feet passenger terminal with airline counters, a restaurant, baggage claim area and car rental facility.
• Because of Decatur Airport's relatively low elevation of 682 feet, planes can take off or land at Decatur 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.