Nonstop flight route between Cardiff, Wales, United Kingdom and East London, South Africa:
Departure Airport:

Arrival Airport:

Distance from CWL to ELS:
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- About this route
- CWL Airport Information
- ELS Airport Information
- Facts about CWL
- Facts about ELS
- Map of Nearest Airports to CWL
- List of Nearest Airports to CWL
- Map of Furthest Airports from CWL
- List of Furthest Airports from CWL
- Map of Nearest Airports to ELS
- List of Nearest Airports to ELS
- Map of Furthest Airports from ELS
- List of Furthest Airports from ELS
About this route:
A direct, nonstop flight between Cardiff Airport (CWL), Cardiff, Wales, United Kingdom and East London Airport (ELS), East London, South Africa would travel a Great Circle distance of 6,133 miles (or 9,870 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 East London 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 East London Airport. You'll see that it will travel the same route of the red line on this map!
Departure Airport Information:
IATA / ICAO Codes: | CWL / EGFF |
Airport Names: |
|
Location: | Cardiff, Wales, United Kingdom |
GPS Coordinates: | 51°23'48"N by 3°20'35"W |
Area Served: | Cardiff South Wales Mid Wales West Wales |
Operator/Owner: | Welsh Government |
Airport Type: | Public |
Elevation: | 220 feet (67 meters) |
# of Runways: | 1 |
View all routes: | Routes from CWL |
More Information: | CWL Maps & Info |
Arrival Airport Information:
IATA / ICAO Codes: | ELS / FAEL |
Airport Name: | East London Airport |
Location: | East London, South Africa |
GPS Coordinates: | 33°2'5"S by 27°49'17"E |
Area Served: | East London, Eastern Cape, South Africa |
Airport Type: | Public |
Elevation: | 436 feet (133 meters) |
# of Runways: | 2 |
View all routes: | Routes from ELS |
More Information: | ELS Maps & Info |
Facts about Cardiff Airport (CWL):
- In the 1970s, the supersonic airliner Concorde made a few flights into the airport on special occasions.
- 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.
- 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.
- On 29 May 2012 it was announced that Jones would personally chair a "Task Force" on Cardiff Airport with the aim of "maximising its economic impact, commercially and for Wales".
- The closest airport to Cardiff Airport (CWL) is MoD St Athan (DGX), which is located only 4 miles (6 kilometers) W of CWL.
- The airport was used by 2.1 million passengers in 2008, falling to around 1.1 million passengers in 2013, according to the United Kingdom Civil Aviation Authority, a reduction of nearly 50% since 2008, making it the 21st busiest airport in the UK in terms of passenger numbers.
- In addition to being known as "Cardiff Airport", another name for CWL is "Maes Awyr Caerdydd".
- 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.
- However, it emerged that the Airport had applied for £5 million of payments from the Welsh Assembly Government to deal with unspecified development at the terminal.
- Cardiff Airport (CWL) currently has only 1 runway.
Facts about East London Airport (ELS):
- Passenger flights were undertaken by two de Havilland Moth planes on Saturday afternoons and all day on Sundays, weather permitting.
- The airport had an inauspicious beginning in 1927, when Lieut Colonel Alistair Miller asked the East London town council to help establish a municipal aerodrome at Woodbrook, west of the city.
- The furthest airport from East London Airport (ELS) is Kalaupapa Airport (LUP), which is located 11,569 miles (18,618 kilometers) away in Kalaupapa, Hawaii, United States.
- The airport was renamed in 1994.
- East London Airport (ELS) has 2 runways.
- Because of East London Airport's relatively low elevation of 436 feet, planes can take off or land at East London 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 East London Airport (ELS) is Port Alfred Airport (AFD), which is located 65 miles (105 kilometers) WSW of ELS.