Nonstop flight route between Apia, Samoa and Cardiff, Wales, United Kingdom:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Fagali'i Airport (FGI), Apia, Samoa and Cardiff Airport (CWL), Cardiff, Wales, United Kingdom would travel a Great Circle distance of 9,763 miles (or 15,712 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 Fagali'i Airport 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 Fagali'i Airport 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 Fagali'i Airport (FGI):

• The proposal to re-open the airport was controversial and attracted criticism both for the safety and environmental issues with the airport's configuration and for the potential burden on local communities should the scheme fail.
• Fagali'i Airport was previously owned and operated by Polynesian Airlines and the Samoa Government.
• Fagali'i Airport is an airport located Fagali'i, Samoa.
• The furthest airport from Fagali'i Airport (FGI) is Zinder Airport (ZND), which is nearly antipodal to Fagali'i Airport (meaning Fagali'i Airport is almost on the exact opposite side of the Earth from Zinder Airport), and is located 12,388 miles (19,936 kilometers) away in Zinder, Niger.
• Fagali'i Airport (FGI) currently has only 1 runway.
• The closest airport to Fagali'i Airport (FGI) is Faleolo International Airport (APW), which is located only 18 miles (29 kilometers) W of FGI.

Facts about Cardiff Airport (CWL):

• Cardiff Airport handled 1,072,062 passengers last year.
• The closest airport to Cardiff Airport (CWL) is MoD St Athan (DGX), which is located only 4 miles (6 kilometers) W of CWL.
• 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.
• The airport was the main base for three local airlines.
• 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 (CWL) currently has only 1 runway.
• 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 April 1995, due to planned Local Government re-organisation in Wales, the Airport Company was privatised, with shares being sold to property and development firm, TBI plc, which has now been converted back to a private company called TBI Ltd and is concessionary to Orlando Sanford International Airport.
• The First Minister's criticism was roundly rejected by Alex Cruz, chief executive of Vueling - a Spanish airline which operates regular flights from Cardiff.
• Cardiff Airport was owned by a private company Cardiff International Airport Limited which, in turn was wholly owned by TBI Ltd a former public company which is 90% owned by the Spanish conglomerate Abertis and 10% by Aena International - the world's largest airport operator.
• Also in 1952 Aer Lingus started a service to Dublin.
• In addition to being known as "Cardiff Airport", another name for CWL is "Maes Awyr Caerdydd".