Nonstop flight route between Moline, Illinois, United States and Cardiff, Wales, United Kingdom:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Quad City International Airport (MLI), Moline, Illinois, United States and Cardiff Airport (CWL), Cardiff, Wales, United Kingdom would travel a Great Circle distance of 3,958 miles (or 6,370 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 Quad City 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 Quad City 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:

Arrival Airport Information:

Facts about Quad City International Airport (MLI):

• The closest airport to Quad City International Airport (MLI) is Davenport Municipal Airport (DVN), which is located only 12 miles (19 kilometers) NNW of MLI.
• Quad City is the third-busiest commercial airport in Illinois – Chicago's O'Hare and Midway International Airports lead the state.
• The airport set its passenger record in 2007 when 484,212 passengers boarded flights while 481,930 deplaned.
• Because of Quad City International Airport's relatively low elevation of 590 feet, planes can take off or land at Quad City 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.
• The furthest airport from Quad City International Airport (MLI) is Margaret River Airport (MGV), which is located 10,950 miles (17,623 kilometers) away in Margaret River, Western Australia, Australia.
• Quad City International Airport (MLI) has 3 runways.
• All passengers enter the airport at the main terminal and then proceed to either Concourse A or Concourse B.
• Air Midwest, AirTran Airways, America West Airlines, American Airlines, Allegiant Air, Chicago Air, Midway Connection, Northwest Airlines, Ozark Air Lines, Pan American World Airways, Skyway Airlines, Trans World Airlines and United Airlines have flown to Quad Cities.
• The terminal features the full-service Air Host Restaurant.

Facts about Cardiff Airport (CWL):

• Following a survey conducted by the airport operator in 2008 as part of a campaign to attract additional business routes to the airport, popular destinations such as Aberdeen, Frankfurt, Düsseldorf, Brussels and Scandinavian cities were identified as lacking a current link.
• 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.
• 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.
• It was announced on 13 April 2011 that Bmibaby were to close their base at the airport, along with their base at Manchester Airport in the following October in order to redeploy aircraft at their other bases, including the creation of a new operation at Belfast City Airport.
• 1986 saw a further extension of 750 ft to the runway, costing in the region of £1 million, thus attracting more business to the airport in the form of new-generation jet aircraft.
• Cardiff Airport (CWL) currently has only 1 runway.
• 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.
• The man who decided Rhoose could be the site of a new Airport was David Rees-Williams a Bridgend-born solicitor who had served as a Lieutenant-Colonel in the Royal Artillery during the WW2 and who.
• In addition to being known as "Cardiff Airport", another name for CWL is "Maes Awyr Caerdydd".
• 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.
• Passenger numbers increased from 2012 to 2013 which shows that Cardiff is making a slow recovery to try to reach passenger levels achieved over 10 years ago.