Nonstop flight route between Santa Ana, California, United States and Cardiff, Wales, United Kingdom:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between John Wayne Airport (SNA), Santa Ana, California, United States and Cardiff Airport (CWL), Cardiff, Wales, United Kingdom would travel a Great Circle distance of 5,349 miles (or 8,609 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 John Wayne 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 John Wayne 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 John Wayne Airport (SNA):

• The closest airport to John Wayne Airport (SNA) is MCAS El Toro (NZJ), which is located only 8 miles (13 kilometers) E of SNA.
• The furthest airport from John Wayne Airport (SNA) is Pierrefonds Airport (ZSE), which is located 11,490 miles (18,491 kilometers) away in Saint-Pierre, Réunion.
• Terminals A and B were built in 1990 to replace the former Eddie Martin Terminal which was closed upon the new terminals' opening.
• The original single runway was 4,800 feet long, oriented on a magnetic heading of 210 degrees and 30 degrees.
• The first airstrip on the grounds was constructed in 1923, when Eddie Martin started giving biplane rides on land owned by The Irvine Company, initially without their permission.
• John Wayne Airport (SNA) has 2 runways.
• Because of John Wayne Airport's relatively low elevation of 56 feet, planes can take off or land at John Wayne 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.

Facts about Cardiff Airport (CWL):

• Cardiff Airport handled 1,072,062 passengers last year.
• 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.
• 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.
• In addition to being known as "Cardiff Airport", another name for CWL is "Maes Awyr Caerdydd".
• In early December 2013 Flybe announced it would drop its Paris and Glasgow services with effect from January 2014.
• 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.
• Also in 1952 Aer Lingus started a service to Dublin.
• The closest airport to Cardiff Airport (CWL) is MoD St Athan (DGX), which is located only 4 miles (6 kilometers) W of CWL.
• Cardiff Airport (CWL) currently has only 1 runway.