Nonstop flight route between Spencer, Iowa, United States and Cardiff, Wales, United Kingdom:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Spencer Municipal Airport (SPW), Spencer, Iowa, United States and Cardiff Airport (CWL), Cardiff, Wales, United Kingdom would travel a Great Circle distance of 4,054 miles (or 6,525 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 Spencer Municipal 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 Spencer Municipal 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 Spencer Municipal Airport (SPW):

• In addition to being known as "Spencer Municipal Airport", another name for SPW is "Northwest Iowa Regional AirportSpencer Army Airfield".
• Spencer Municipal Airport (SPW) has 2 runways.
• Opened in March, 1942.
• The closest airport to Spencer Municipal Airport (SPW) is Jackson Municipal Airport (MJQ), which is located 35 miles (57 kilometers) NNE of SPW.
• The furthest airport from Spencer Municipal Airport (SPW) is Margaret River Airport (MGV), which is located 10,691 miles (17,206 kilometers) away in Margaret River, Western Australia, Australia.
• The airport is not served by any commercial airlines at this time but it was once the home of Great Lakes Airlines.

Facts about Cardiff Airport (CWL):

• 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.
• In addition to being known as "Cardiff Airport", another name for CWL is "Maes Awyr Caerdydd".
• However, it emerged that the Airport had applied for £5 million of payments from the Welsh Assembly Government to deal with unspecified development at the terminal.
• 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.
• Cardiff Airport handled 1,072,062 passengers last year.
• On 1 April 1965 the Ministry of Aviation handed over the airport to Glamorgan County Council and it was renamed Glamorgan Airport.
• Airport management announced, on 29 March 2006 a £100 million development strategy which will see the current terminal being extended, as well as upgrades to the main body of the building.
• 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.
• 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.
• The history of the airport extends back to the early 1940s, when the Air Ministry requisitioned land in the rural Vale of Glamorgan to set up a wartime satellite aerodrome and training base, named RAF Rhoose, for Royal Air Force Spitfire pilots.
• The closest airport to Cardiff Airport (CWL) is MoD St Athan (DGX), which is located only 4 miles (6 kilometers) W of CWL.