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

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Cardiff Airport (CWL), Cardiff, Wales, United Kingdom and Chicago O'Hare International Airport (ORD), Chicago, Illinois, United States would travel a Great Circle distance of 3,833 miles (or 6,169 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 Chicago O'Hare 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 Chicago O'Hare 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):

• 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.
• In addition to being known as "Cardiff Airport", another name for CWL is "Maes Awyr Caerdydd".
• 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.
• The airport was the main base for three local airlines.
• 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.
• The closest airport to Cardiff Airport (CWL) is MoD St Athan (DGX), which is located only 4 miles (6 kilometers) W of 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.
• On 15 May 2014 it was announced that Ryanair would return to the airport after an absence of 8 years by operating a service to Tenerife starting on 30 October the same year.
• Cardiff Airport handled 1,072,062 passengers last year.
• Cardiff Airport (CWL) currently has only 1 runway.
• In the 1970s, the supersonic airliner Concorde made a few flights into the airport on special occasions.
• Cardiff Airport is an international airport owned by the Welsh Government, serving Cardiff and the rest of South, Mid and West Wales.

Facts about Chicago O'Hare International Airport (ORD):

• The airport was constructed in 1942–43 as a manufacturing plant for Douglas C-54s during World War II.
• The furthest airport from Chicago O'Hare International Airport (ORD) is Margaret River Airport (MGV), which is located 11,071 miles (17,817 kilometers) away in Margaret River, Western Australia, Australia.
• American Airlines, United Airlines and Trans World Airlines had many routes to the West Coast, Northeast and Midwest.
• Concourses B and C are linear concourses located in separate buildings parallel to each other.
• The original Douglas Aircraft C-54 Skymaster transport manufacturing plant on the northeast side of the airport became a United States Air Force Air National Guard and Air Force Reserve facility after World War II.
• Because of Chicago O'Hare International Airport's relatively low elevation of 668 feet, planes can take off or land at Chicago O'Hare 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.
• The closest airport to Chicago O'Hare International Airport (ORD) is Chicago Executive Airport (PWK), which is located only 9 miles (15 kilometers) N of ORD.
• By the early 1950s, Chicago Midway International Airport, Chicago's primary airport since 1931, had become too crowded despite multiple expansions and could not handle the planned first generation of jets.
• All fixed-wing scheduled airline service in Chicago moved from Midway to O'Hare by July 1962.
• Chicago O'Hare International Airport (ORD) has 8 runways.