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

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Cardiff Airport (CWL), Cardiff, Wales, United Kingdom and Portland International Airport (PDX), Portland, Oregon, United States would travel a Great Circle distance of 4,825 miles (or 7,764 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 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 Portland 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 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.
• Cardiff Airport has also had several problems with wild fly-grazing horses around the airfield and the Redwings Sanctuary in Norfolk were needed to assist in the rescue of 23 unclaimed horses that had been left on the site.
• 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 addition to being known as "Cardiff Airport", another name for CWL is "Maes Awyr Caerdydd".
• 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.
• 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.
• On 1 April 1965 the Ministry of Aviation handed over the airport to Glamorgan County Council and it was renamed Glamorgan Airport.

Facts about Portland International Airport (PDX):

• Because of Portland International Airport's relatively low elevation of 30 feet, planes can take off or land at Portland 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.
• Portland International Airport (PDX) has 3 runways.
• The first international nonstop was Western's 720B to Vancouver in 1967.
• The present PDX site was purchased by the Portland City Council in 1936.
• Portland International Airport handled 1,502,956 passengers last year.
• In 2012, PDX handled 14,390,784 passengers and had non-stop commercial air service to 17 of the 18 most populated US Metropolitan Statistical Areas.
• In 1925 aviation proponents proposed an airport for Portland on Swan Island, northwest of downtown Portland on the Willamette River.
• The furthest airport from Portland International Airport (PDX) is Tôlanaro Airport (FTU), which is located 10,903 miles (17,546 kilometers) away in Tôlanaro, Madagascar.
• The closest airport to Portland International Airport (PDX) is Portland-Troutdale Airport (TTD), which is located only 10 miles (16 kilometers) ESE of PDX.
• The early 1990s saw a food court and extension added to Concourse C, and the opening of the new Concourse D in 1994.