Nonstop flight route between Cardiff, Wales, United Kingdom and Puerto Limón, Costa Rica:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Cardiff Airport (CWL), Cardiff, Wales, United Kingdom and Limón International Airport (LIO), Puerto Limón, Costa Rica would travel a Great Circle distance of 5,238 miles (or 8,429 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 Limón 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 Limón 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):

• 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 2012, the airport ran into a barrage of sustained criticism from the First Minister of Wales, Carwyn Jones.
• 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 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.
• 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 2006 the Irish low cost carrier Ryanair withdrew from the airport ending 5 years of service on the Cardiff to Dublin route daily.
• 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 addition to being known as "Cardiff Airport", another name for CWL is "Maes Awyr Caerdydd".
• 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.

Facts about Limón International Airport (LIO):

• In addition to being known as "Limón International Airport", another name for LIO is "Aeropuerto Internacional de Limón".
• Puerto Limón and the southern Caribbean area towns of Cahuita, Puerto Viejo, Manzanillo and Gandoca, as well as the indigenous communities of Bri Bri, Hone Creek, Carbon 1 and 2, Shiroles and Suretka are all within two hours of the airport by ground transportation.
• The closest airport to Limón International Airport (LIO) is Changuinola "Capitan Manuel Niño" International Airport (CHX), which is located 47 miles (76 kilometers) SE of LIO.
• Limón International Airport (LIO) currently has only 1 runway.
• The furthest airport from Limón International Airport (LIO) is Cocos (Keeling) Island Airport (CCK), which is nearly antipodal to Limón International Airport (meaning Limón International Airport is almost on the exact opposite side of the Earth from Cocos (Keeling) Island Airport), and is located 12,282 miles (19,766 kilometers) away in Cocos Islands, Australia.
• Because of Limón International Airport's relatively low elevation of 7 feet, planes can take off or land at Limón International 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.