Nonstop flight route between Cardiff, Wales, United Kingdom and Lubumbashi, Democratic Republic of the Congo:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Cardiff Airport (CWL), Cardiff, Wales, United Kingdom and Lubumbashi International Airport (FBM), Lubumbashi, Democratic Republic of the Congo would travel a Great Circle distance of 4,728 miles (or 7,610 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 Lubumbashi International 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 Lubumbashi International 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):

• Passenger numbers increased from 2012 to 2013 which shows that Cardiff is making a slow recovery to try to reach passenger levels achieved over 10 years ago.
• On 16 May 2012, it was announced that airport Managing Director, Patrick Duffy, had left his position amid mounting pressure from the Welsh Government on the airport owners Abertis to improve the state of the airport and improve the services it offers, or sell the facility to an investor in a proposed public-private partnership.
• 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.
• 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.
• Cardiff Airport (CWL) currently has only 1 runway.
• 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.
• 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 handled 1,072,062 passengers last year.
• 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.

Facts about Lubumbashi International Airport (FBM):

• Lubumbashi International Airport (FBM) currently has only 1 runway.
• This airport played a high-profile role during the Katanga war.
• Because of Lubumbashi International Airport's high elevation of 4,295 feet, planes must typically fly at a faster airspeed in order to takeoff or land at FBM. Combined with a high temperature, this could make FBM a "Hot & High" airport, where the air density is lower than it would otherwise be at sea level.
• The furthest airport from Lubumbashi International Airport (FBM) is Hilo International Airport (ITO), which is located 11,850 miles (19,070 kilometers) away in Hilo, Hawaii, United States.
• The closest airport to Lubumbashi International Airport (FBM) is Kasompe Airport (CGJ), which is located 72 miles (116 kilometers) SSE of FBM.