Nonstop flight route between Alexandria, Louisiana, United States and Cardiff, Wales, United Kingdom:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Esler Field (ESF), Alexandria, Louisiana, United States and Cardiff Airport (CWL), Cardiff, Wales, United Kingdom would travel a Great Circle distance of 4,516 miles (or 7,268 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 Esler Field and Cardiff 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 Esler Field and Cardiff 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 Esler Field (ESF):

• This airport is included in the FAA's National Plan of Integrated Airport Systems for 2011–2015, which categorized it as a general aviation airport.
• In the early '90s, Esler Regional Airport became lifeless and quiet with an uncertain future after airport services including all scheduled passenger airline flights for central Louisiana were moved to the England Industrial Airpark and Community, the location of the former England Air Force Base which is now known as Alexandria International Airport.
• Esler Field (ESF) has 2 runways.
• About 60 percent of the airport's operations are military and the rest are civilian.
• In addition to being known as "Esler Field", another name for ESF is "Esler Regional AirportEsler Army Airfield".
• In late 1943, Esler was again reassigned within Third Air Force, to the I Tactical Air Division, to become a close air support training field.
• The furthest airport from Esler Field (ESF) is Cocos (Keeling) Island Airport (CCK), which is located 10,988 miles (17,683 kilometers) away in Cocos Islands, Australia.
• The closest airport to Esler Field (ESF) is Alexandria International Airport (AEX), which is located only 16 miles (25 kilometers) WSW of ESF.
• In 1984, Best Airlines served Esler with nonstop Douglas DC-9-10 jet service to Atlanta, GA and Gulfport, MS.
• Because of Esler Field's relatively low elevation of 112 feet, planes can take off or land at Esler Field 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 Cardiff Airport (CWL):

• Cardiff Airport handled 1,072,062 passengers last year.
• In addition to being known as "Cardiff Airport", another name for CWL is "Maes Awyr Caerdydd".
• The airport is not only the main maintenance base for British Airways but also home to a variety of aerospace-oriented firms and colleges, and therefore a major contributor to the economic development of the region.
• In early December 2013 Flybe announced it would drop its Paris and Glasgow services with effect from January 2014.
• However, it emerged that the Airport had applied for £5 million of payments from the Welsh Assembly Government to deal with unspecified development at the terminal.
• 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.
• 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.
• Cardiff Airport (CWL) currently has only 1 runway.
• Also in 1952 Aer Lingus started a service to Dublin.
• 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.