Nonstop flight route between Cardiff, Wales, United Kingdom and Hillsboro / Portland, Oregon, United States:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Cardiff Airport (CWL), Cardiff, Wales, United Kingdom and Portland-Hillsboro Airport (HIO), Hillsboro / Portland, Oregon, United States would travel a Great Circle distance of 4,837 miles (or 7,785 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 Portland-Hillsboro 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 Portland-Hillsboro 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):

• 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.
• In 2012, the airport ran into a barrage of sustained criticism from the First Minister of Wales, Carwyn Jones.
• 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.
• 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 handled 1,072,062 passengers last year.
• In addition to being known as "Cardiff Airport", another name for CWL is "Maes Awyr Caerdydd".
• On 1 April 1965 the Ministry of Aviation handed over the airport to Glamorgan County Council and it was renamed Glamorgan Airport.
• 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 (CWL) currently has only 1 runway.

Facts about Portland-Hillsboro Airport (HIO):

• Portland-Hillsboro Airport (HIO) has 2 runways.
• Located in the north-central area of Hillsboro, and west of Portland, it hosts the annual Oregon International Air Show.
• The closest airport to Portland-Hillsboro Airport (HIO) is Portland International Airport (PDX), which is located only 17 miles (28 kilometers) E of HIO.
• The furthest airport from Portland-Hillsboro Airport (HIO) is Tôlanaro Airport (FTU), which is located 10,913 miles (17,563 kilometers) away in Tôlanaro, Madagascar.
• As of 2006, the Port of Portland planned to spend $134 million through 2025 to improve the Hillsboro facility.
• Because of Portland-Hillsboro Airport's relatively low elevation of 204 feet, planes can take off or land at Portland-Hillsboro 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.