Nonstop flight route between Cardiff, Wales, United Kingdom and Sofia, Bulgaria:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Cardiff Airport (CWL), Cardiff, Wales, United Kingdom and Sofia Airport Vrazhdebna (SOF), Sofia, Bulgaria would travel a Great Circle distance of 1,385 miles (or 2,229 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 relatively short distance between Cardiff Airport and Sofia Airport Vrazhdebna, the route shown on this map most likely still appears to be a straight line.

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.
• In early December 2013 Flybe announced it would drop its Paris and Glasgow services with effect from January 2014.
• Cardiff Airport is an international airport owned by the Welsh Government, serving Cardiff and the rest of South, Mid and West Wales.
• In 2006 the Irish low cost carrier Ryanair withdrew from the airport ending 5 years of service on the Cardiff to Dublin route daily.
• 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 addition to being known as "Cardiff Airport", another name for CWL is "Maes Awyr Caerdydd".
• 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 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 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.
• Cardiff Airport (CWL) currently has only 1 runway.

Facts about Sofia Airport Vrazhdebna (SOF):

• Sofia Airport Vrazhdebna (SOF) currently has only 1 runway.
• In mid-2012 the airport will have one of the most modern and most beautiful airport towers in Europe.
• The closest airport to Sofia Airport Vrazhdebna (SOF) is Plovdiv Airport (PDV), which is located 86 miles (138 kilometers) ESE of SOF.
• In addition to being known as "Sofia Airport Vrazhdebna", other names for SOF include "Vrazhdebna Airport" and "Летище София".
• The furthest airport from Sofia Airport Vrazhdebna (SOF) is Chatham Islands (CHT), which is located 11,437 miles (18,405 kilometers) away in Waitangi, Chatham Islands, New Zealand.
• On 31 August 2006, Sofia Airport put its new runway system into operation, replacing the old and out-of-date facilities.
• The new tower was officially opened on 7 December 2012.
• Design and construction of a new control tower was discussed in 2006 but this project appeared to be in abeyance by 2008.
• On 19 August 2011 in the presence of Ivaylo Moskovski, minister of transport, information technology and communications, the BULATSA director general Diyan Dinev, Glavbolgarstroy AD chief executive director Pavel Kalistratov and Glavbolgarstroy AD executive director and management board member Nina Stoyanova signed the design execution and construction contract between BULATSA and Glavbolgarstroy AD for the new control tower at Sofia Airport.
• Sofia Airport Vrazhdebna handled 350,432 passengers last year.