Nonstop flight route between Cardiff, Wales, United Kingdom and Grand Forks, North Dakota, United States:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Cardiff Airport (CWL), Cardiff, Wales, United Kingdom and Grand Forks Air Force Base (RDR), Grand Forks, North Dakota, United States would travel a Great Circle distance of 3,909 miles (or 6,291 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 Grand Forks Air Force Base, 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 Grand Forks Air Force Base. 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.
• In early December 2013 Flybe announced it would drop its Paris and Glasgow services with effect from January 2014.
• Cardiff Airport (CWL) currently has only 1 runway.
• The 2010 accounts quoted the net worth of Cardiff Airport Ltd to be £34,311,000.
• 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.
• 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".
• 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.
• The airport was the main base for three local airlines.
• Also in 1952 Aer Lingus started a service to Dublin.

Facts about Grand Forks Air Force Base (RDR):

• In addition to being known as "Grand Forks Air Force Base", another name for RDR is "Grand Forks AFB".
• On 26 May 1972, President Nixon and Soviet general secretary Leonid Brezhnev signed the ABM Treaty, which limited each nation to one site to protect strategic forces and one site to protect the "National Command Authority." With work about 85 percent complete at Grand Forks, the United States chose to finish construction at the North Dakota site.
• The furthest airport from Grand Forks Air Force Base (RDR) is Margaret River Airport (MGV), which is located 10,504 miles (16,904 kilometers) away in Margaret River, Western Australia, Australia.
• The closest airport to Grand Forks Air Force Base (RDR) is Grand Forks International Airport (GFK), which is located only 10 miles (17 kilometers) E of RDR.
• On 18 February 1957, the 478th Fighter Group was activated at Grand Forks.
• The 319th transitioned from B-52H to re-engined B-52G aircraft in 1983, and added the AGM-86 Air Launched Cruise Missile in 1984.