Nonstop flight route between Wellington, New Zealand and Cardiff, Wales, United Kingdom:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Wellington International Airport (WLG), Wellington, New Zealand and Cardiff Airport (CWL), Cardiff, Wales, United Kingdom would travel a Great Circle distance of 11,736 miles (or 18,886 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 Wellington International 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 Wellington International 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 Wellington International Airport (WLG):

• As recently as 1992, several alternate sites for Wellington Airport were considered – Te Horo, Paraparaumu, Mana Island, Ohariu Valley, Horokiwi, Wairarapa and Pencarrow – but a decision was made to upgrade the existing site at Rongotai.
• The length of the runway has limited the size of aircraft that can use the airport on a commercial basis, and overseas destinations are limited to the east coast of Australia and the South Pacific.
• Because of Wellington International Airport's relatively low elevation of 42 feet, planes can take off or land at Wellington International 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 main terminal building contains a common check-in area on the first floor and a common baggage claim area on the ground floor.
• The closest airport to Wellington International Airport (WLG) is Kapiti Coast Airport (PPQ), which is located 31 miles (49 kilometers) NNE of WLG.
• The furthest airport from Wellington International Airport (WLG) is Salamanca-Matacán Airport (SLM), which is nearly antipodal to Wellington International Airport (meaning Wellington International Airport is almost on the exact opposite side of the Earth from Salamanca-Matacán Airport), and is located 12,406 miles (19,966 kilometers) away in Salamanca, Spain.
• According to WIAL in 2009, the forthcoming Boeing 787 and Airbus A350 were originally predicted to have improved runway performance over existing long haul aircraft, opening up the possibility of direct air links to Asia and the Americas if commercially viable.
• Air Movements Rongotai sits on the opposite side of the Wellington airport runway from the main passenger terminals, its main use being the facilatation of RNZAF flights and flights of overseas military forces.
• At 2,081 metres, Wellington's runway is shorter than some New Zealand domestic airport runways.
• Wellington International Airport (WLG) currently has only 1 runway.
• The airport, in addition to linking many New Zealand destinations with national and regional carriers, also has links to major cities in eastern Australia.
• Wellington is the third busiest airport in New Zealand handling a total of 5,373,622 passengers in the year ending 31 March 2013.

Facts about Cardiff Airport (CWL):

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