Nonstop flight route between Cardiff, Wales, United Kingdom and Santa Ana, California, United States:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Cardiff Airport (CWL), Cardiff, Wales, United Kingdom and John Wayne Airport (SNA), Santa Ana, California, United States would travel a Great Circle distance of 5,349 miles (or 8,609 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 John Wayne 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 John Wayne 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.
• 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 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.
• Cardiff Airport handled 1,072,062 passengers last year.
• 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 early December 2013 Flybe announced it would drop its Paris and Glasgow services with effect from January 2014.
• In addition to being known as "Cardiff Airport", another name for CWL is "Maes Awyr Caerdydd".
• The man who decided Rhoose could be the site of a new Airport was David Rees-Williams a Bridgend-born solicitor who had served as a Lieutenant-Colonel in the Royal Artillery during the WW2 and who.
• 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.
• 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.

Facts about John Wayne Airport (SNA):

• John Wayne Airport (SNA) has 2 runways.
• The closest airport to John Wayne Airport (SNA) is MCAS El Toro (NZJ), which is located only 8 miles (13 kilometers) E of SNA.
• Because of John Wayne Airport's relatively low elevation of 56 feet, planes can take off or land at John Wayne 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 first airstrip on the grounds was constructed in 1923, when Eddie Martin started giving biplane rides on land owned by The Irvine Company, initially without their permission.
• The furthest airport from John Wayne Airport (SNA) is Pierrefonds Airport (ZSE), which is located 11,490 miles (18,491 kilometers) away in Saint-Pierre, Réunion.
• During the 1950s, the only airline flights were Bonanza's few flights between Los Angeles and Phoenix, via San Diego.
• Terminals A and B were designed by Gensler & Associates, Leason Pomeroy Associates, and Thompson Consultants International.