Nonstop flight route between Pinehurst / Southern Pines, North Carolina, United States and Cardiff, Wales, United Kingdom:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Moore County Airport (SOP), Pinehurst / Southern Pines, North Carolina, United States and Cardiff Airport (CWL), Cardiff, Wales, United Kingdom would travel a Great Circle distance of 3,799 miles (or 6,114 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 Moore County 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 Moore County 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 Moore County Airport (SOP):

• Because of Moore County Airport's relatively low elevation of 461 feet, planes can take off or land at Moore County 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 rift was exacerbated by the Airport Authority's $2 million proposal which was approved by lawmakers, to build several large hangars using taxpayer funds.
• Most of the Moore County Airport property lies within the extraterritorial jurisdiction of Whispering Pines, NC, prompting debate over who had ultimate regulatory power over it — the village of Whispering Pines or the Moore County Airport Authority.
• The furthest airport from Moore County Airport (SOP) is Margaret River Airport (MGV), which is located 11,608 miles (18,682 kilometers) away in Margaret River, Western Australia, Australia.
• Moore County Airport (SOP) currently has only 1 runway.
• The closest airport to Moore County Airport (SOP) is Mackall Army Airfield (HFF), which is located only 15 miles (24 kilometers) SSW of SOP.

Facts about Cardiff Airport (CWL):

• Cardiff Airport handled 1,072,062 passengers last year.
• In 2007 a new airline was mooted as a new home carrier at the airport.
• In addition to being known as "Cardiff Airport", another name for CWL is "Maes Awyr Caerdydd".
• 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.
• In the 1970s, the supersonic airliner Concorde made a few flights into the airport on special occasions.
• On 1 April 1965 the Ministry of Aviation handed over the airport to Glamorgan County Council and it was renamed Glamorgan Airport.
• 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 closest airport to Cardiff Airport (CWL) is MoD St Athan (DGX), which is located only 4 miles (6 kilometers) W of CWL.
• In 2012, the airport ran into a barrage of sustained criticism from the First Minister of Wales, Carwyn Jones.
• On 16 May 2012, it was announced that airport Managing Director, Patrick Duffy, had left his position amid mounting pressure from the Welsh Government on the airport owners Abertis to improve the state of the airport and improve the services it offers, or sell the facility to an investor in a proposed public-private partnership.
• 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.
• 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.