Nonstop flight route between Rio de Janeiro, Brazil and Cardiff, Wales, United Kingdom:
Departure Airport:

Arrival Airport:

Distance from GIG to CWL:
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- About this route
- GIG Airport Information
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- Facts about GIG
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- Map of Furthest Airports from GIG
- List of Furthest Airports from GIG
- Map of Nearest Airports to CWL
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- List of Furthest Airports from CWL
About this route:
A direct, nonstop flight between Rio de Janeiro/Galeão–Antonio Carlos Jobim International Airport (GIG), Rio de Janeiro, Brazil and Cardiff Airport (CWL), Cardiff, Wales, United Kingdom would travel a Great Circle distance of 5,669 miles (or 9,124 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 Rio de Janeiro/Galeão–Antonio Carlos Jobim International 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 Rio de Janeiro/Galeão–Antonio Carlos Jobim International Airport and Cardiff Airport. You'll see that it will travel the same route of the red line on this map!
Departure Airport Information:
IATA / ICAO Codes: | GIG / SBGL |
Airport Names: |
|
Location: | Rio de Janeiro, Brazil |
GPS Coordinates: | 22°48'35"S by 43°15'2"W |
Area Served: | Rio de Janeiro |
Operator/Owner: | Aeroporto Rio de Janeiro and Infraero |
Airport Type: | Public/Military |
Elevation: | 28 feet (9 meters) |
# of Runways: | 2 |
View all routes: | Routes from GIG |
More Information: | GIG Maps & Info |
Arrival Airport Information:
IATA / ICAO Codes: | CWL / EGFF |
Airport Names: |
|
Location: | Cardiff, Wales, United Kingdom |
GPS Coordinates: | 51°23'48"N by 3°20'35"W |
Area Served: | Cardiff South Wales Mid Wales West Wales |
Operator/Owner: | Welsh Government |
Airport Type: | Public |
Elevation: | 220 feet (67 meters) |
# of Runways: | 1 |
View all routes: | Routes from CWL |
More Information: | CWL Maps & Info |
Facts about Rio de Janeiro/Galeão–Antonio Carlos Jobim International Airport (GIG):
- The history of the airport begins on May 10, 1923 when a School of Naval Aviation was established near Galeão beach on Governador Island.
- In addition to being known as "Rio de Janeiro/Galeão–Antonio Carlos Jobim International Airport", another name for GIG is "Aeroporto Internacional do Rio de Janeiro/Galeão–Antonio Carlos Jobim".
- Premium Auto Ônibus operates executive bus 2018, that runs half-hourly between 05:30 and 23:30 hours, from the airport to the Central Bus Station, Rio de Janeiro downtown, Santos Dumont Airport, and the southern parts of the city along the shore, with final stop at Alvorada Bus Terminal in Barra da Tijuca.
- The furthest airport from Rio de Janeiro/Galeão–Antonio Carlos Jobim International Airport (GIG) is Central Field (Iwo Jima)Motoyama No. 2Airfield No. 2 (IWO), which is nearly antipodal to Rio de Janeiro/Galeão–Antonio Carlos Jobim International Airport (meaning Rio de Janeiro/Galeão–Antonio Carlos Jobim International Airport is almost on the exact opposite side of the Earth from Central Field (Iwo Jima)Motoyama No. 2Airfield No. 2), and is located 12,117 miles (19,500 kilometers) away in Iwo Jima, Bonin Islands, Japan.
- Because of Rio de Janeiro/Galeão–Antonio Carlos Jobim International Airport's relatively low elevation of 28 feet, planes can take off or land at Rio de Janeiro/Galeão–Antonio Carlos Jobim International 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 1985 the airport lost the title of the country's major international airport to São Paulo-Guarulhos International Airport.
- Rio de Janeiro/Galeão–Antonio Carlos Jobim International Airport handled 17,115,368 passengers last year.
- The closest airport to Rio de Janeiro/Galeão–Antonio Carlos Jobim International Airport (GIG) is Santos Dumont Airport (SDU), which is located only 9 miles (14 kilometers) SE of GIG.
- Rio de Janeiro/Galeão–Antonio Carlos Jobim International Airport (GIG) has 2 runways.
Facts about Cardiff Airport (CWL):
- On 27 March 2013, the Welsh Government announced it had purchased the Cardiff International Airport Ltd from TBI Ltd as a going concern for £52,000,000.
- In 2012, the airport ran into a barrage of sustained criticism from the First Minister of Wales, Carwyn Jones.
- In 2006 the Irish low cost carrier Ryanair withdrew from the airport ending 5 years of service on the Cardiff to Dublin route daily.
- In addition to being known as "Cardiff Airport", another name for CWL is "Maes Awyr Caerdydd".
- Cardiff Airport handled 1,072,062 passengers last year.
- 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 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 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 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.
- Cardiff Airport (CWL) currently has only 1 runway.
- On 1 April 1965 the Ministry of Aviation handed over the airport to Glamorgan County Council and it was renamed Glamorgan Airport.