Nonstop flight route between Olympia, Washington, United States and Cardiff, Wales, United Kingdom:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Olympia Regional Airport (OLM), Olympia, Washington, United States and Cardiff Airport (CWL), Cardiff, Wales, United Kingdom would travel a Great Circle distance of 4,755 miles (or 7,653 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 Olympia 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 Olympia 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 Olympia Regional Airport (OLM):

• The airport served as a satellite of nearby McChord Field during World War II, and commercial aviation history at the Olympia Airport extends to the 1920s.
• The furthest airport from Olympia Regional Airport (OLM) is Tôlanaro Airport (FTU), which is located 10,822 miles (17,417 kilometers) away in Tôlanaro, Madagascar.
• In addition to being known as "Olympia Regional Airport", another name for OLM is "Olympia Army Airfield".
• The closest airport to Olympia Regional Airport (OLM) is Gray Army Airfield (GRF), which is located only 17 miles (27 kilometers) ENE of OLM.
• Because of Olympia Regional Airport's relatively low elevation of 209 feet, planes can take off or land at Olympia 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.
• An FAA funded $15 million improvement project to make the airport a safer facility was completed in September, 2008, focusing on runway line-of-sight improvements and enhanced signage.
• Olympia Regional Airport (OLM) has 2 runways.

Facts about Cardiff Airport (CWL):

• In early December 2013 Flybe announced it would drop its Paris and Glasgow services with effect from January 2014.
• In addition to being known as "Cardiff Airport", another name for CWL is "Maes Awyr Caerdydd".
• Cardiff Airport (CWL) currently has only 1 runway.
• 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.
• 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.
• 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.
• Cardiff Airport handled 1,072,062 passengers last year.
• 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.
• 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.
• The closest airport to Cardiff Airport (CWL) is MoD St Athan (DGX), which is located only 4 miles (6 kilometers) W of CWL.