Nonstop flight route between Fort Smith, Arkansas, United States and Cardiff, Wales, United Kingdom:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Fort Smith Regional Airport (FSM), Fort Smith, Arkansas, United States and Cardiff Airport (CWL), Cardiff, Wales, United Kingdom would travel a Great Circle distance of 4,402 miles (or 7,084 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 Fort Smith Regional 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 Fort Smith Regional 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 Fort Smith Regional Airport (FSM):

• The furthest airport from Fort Smith Regional Airport (FSM) is Margaret River Airport (MGV), which is located 10,765 miles (17,324 kilometers) away in Margaret River, Western Australia, Australia.
• The closest airport to Fort Smith Regional Airport (FSM) is Robert S. Kerr Airport (RKR), which is located 26 miles (42 kilometers) SSW of FSM.
• Air Traffic services are provided by the Federal Aviation Administration from an Air Traffic Control Tower and TRACON.
• Because of Fort Smith Regional Airport's relatively low elevation of 469 feet, planes can take off or land at Fort Smith Regional 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.
• Fort Smith Regional Airport covers an area of 1,359 acres at an elevation of 469 feet above mean sea level.
• Fort Smith Regional Airport (FSM) has 2 runways.
• Since 1953, FSM has been the proud home to Fort Smith Air National Guard Station and the 188th Fighter Wing, an Air Combat Command -gained unit of the Arkansas Air National Guard.

Facts about Cardiff Airport (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.
• 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.
• 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.
• On 2 March 2009 the airport management revealed a name change for the airport along with initial development plans to improve the image of the facility.
• In 2012, the airport ran into a barrage of sustained criticism from the First Minister of Wales, Carwyn Jones.
• In addition to being known as "Cardiff Airport", another name for CWL is "Maes Awyr Caerdydd".
• 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.