Nonstop flight route between Mattoon/Charleston, Illinois, United States and Cardiff, Wales, United Kingdom:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Coles County Memorial Airport (MTO), Mattoon/Charleston, Illinois, United States and Cardiff Airport (CWL), Cardiff, Wales, United Kingdom would travel a Great Circle distance of 3,963 miles (or 6,378 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 Coles County Memorial 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 Coles County Memorial 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 Coles County Memorial Airport (MTO):

• Coles County Memorial Airport (MTO) has 3 runways.
• Because of Coles County Memorial Airport's relatively low elevation of 722 feet, planes can take off or land at Coles County Memorial 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.
• Coles County Memorial Airport is between the cities of Mattoon and Charleston in Coles County, Illinois.
• The closest airport to Coles County Memorial Airport (MTO) is University of Illinois Willard Airport (CMI), which is located 39 miles (62 kilometers) N of MTO.
• Airline flights started around 1955 and ended in 2000-2001.
• The furthest airport from Coles County Memorial Airport (MTO) is Margaret River Airport (MGV), which is located 11,091 miles (17,849 kilometers) away in Margaret River, Western Australia, Australia.

Facts about Cardiff Airport (CWL):

• In 2012, the airport ran into a barrage of sustained criticism from the First Minister of Wales, Carwyn Jones.
• Cardiff Airport handled 1,072,062 passengers last year.
• Also in 1952 Aer Lingus started a service to Dublin.
• Cardiff Airport (CWL) currently has only 1 runway.
• 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.
• 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 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 addition to being known as "Cardiff Airport", another name for CWL is "Maes Awyr Caerdydd".
• 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.
• 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.
• Rees-Williams thought diverting the river at Pengam would be a problem, and feared that the tall chimney stacks of the nearby East Moors Steelworks could pose a safety hazard to aircraft.
• 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.