Nonstop flight route between Wrightstown, New Jersey, United States and Cardiff, Wales, United Kingdom:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between McGuire AFB (WRI), Wrightstown, New Jersey, United States and Cardiff Airport (CWL), Cardiff, Wales, United Kingdom would travel a Great Circle distance of 3,385 miles (or 5,448 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 McGuire AFB 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 McGuire AFB 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 McGuire AFB (WRI):

• Military Air Transport Service took over jurisdiction of McGuire AFB on 1 July 1954 and took over the flight line of McGuire in 1956, with the ADC interceptors being reassigned.
• McGuire the only base in both the Air Mobility Command and the entire U.S.
• In addition to being known as "McGuire AFB", another name for WRI is "McGuire AFB/JB MDL McGuire".
• Developed by Massachusetts Institute of Technology engineers and scientists, SAGE monitored North American skies for possible attack by manned aircraft and missiles for 25 years.
• The closest airport to McGuire AFB (WRI) is JB MDL Lakehurst (NEL), which is located only 13 miles (20 kilometers) E of WRI.
• With the departure of the 91st SRW, control of McGuire AFB was reassigned to Continental Air Command.
• McGuire Air Force Base was established as Fort Dix Airport in 1937 and first opened to military aircraft on 9 January 1941.
• The 438th MAW completed the replacement of the prop-driven transports of MATS with the new Lockheed C-141 Starlifter.
• The furthest airport from McGuire AFB (WRI) is Margaret River Airport (MGV), which is located 11,757 miles (18,921 kilometers) away in Margaret River, Western Australia, Australia.

Facts about Cardiff Airport (CWL):

• 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 handled 1,072,062 passengers last year.
• 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.
• 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.
• In early December 2013 Flybe announced it would drop its Paris and Glasgow services with effect from January 2014.
• 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.
• 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.
• 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".
• In 2006 the Irish low cost carrier Ryanair withdrew from the airport ending 5 years of service on the Cardiff to Dublin route daily.
• 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.