Nonstop flight route between Great Falls, Montana, United States and Cardiff, Wales, United Kingdom:
Departure Airport:
Arrival Airport:
Distance from GFA to CWL:
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- About this route
- GFA Airport Information
- CWL Airport Information
- Facts about GFA
- Facts about CWL
- Map of Nearest Airports to GFA
- List of Nearest Airports to GFA
- Map of Furthest Airports from GFA
- List of Furthest Airports from GFA
- Map of Nearest Airports to CWL
- List of Nearest Airports to CWL
- Map of Furthest Airports from CWL
- List of Furthest Airports from CWL
About this route:
A direct, nonstop flight between Malmstrom Air Force Base (GFA), Great Falls, Montana, United States and Cardiff Airport (CWL), Cardiff, Wales, United Kingdom would travel a Great Circle distance of 4,384 miles (or 7,055 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 Malmstrom Air Force Base 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 Malmstrom Air Force Base and Cardiff Airport. You'll see that it will travel the same route of the red line on this map!
Departure Airport Information:
IATA / ICAO Codes: | GFA / KGFA |
Airport Names: |
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Location: | Great Falls, Montana, United States |
GPS Coordinates: | 47°30'16"N by 111°11'13"W |
View all routes: | Routes from GFA |
More Information: | GFA Maps & Info |
Arrival Airport Information:
IATA / ICAO Codes: | CWL / EGFF |
Airport Names: |
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Location: | Cardiff, Wales, United Kingdom |
GPS Coordinates: | 51°23'48"N by 3°20'35"W |
Area Served: | Cardiff South Wales Mid Wales West Wales |
Operator/Owner: | Welsh Government |
Airport Type: | Public |
Elevation: | 220 feet (67 meters) |
# of Runways: | 1 |
View all routes: | Routes from CWL |
More Information: | CWL Maps & Info |
Facts about Malmstrom Air Force Base (GFA):
- After World War II ended Great Falls AAB assumed a support mission for military personnel assigned to Alaskan military installations.
- The closest airport to Malmstrom Air Force Base (GFA) is Great Falls International Airport (GTF), which is located only 9 miles (14 kilometers) W of GFA.
- Great Falls was reassigned to the Central Air Defense Force at Richards-Gebaur Air Force Base in 1953.
- On 23 December 1959, the Air Force Ballistic Missile Committee approved the selection of Malmstrom AFB to host the first Minuteman ICBM base.
- In addition to being known as "Malmstrom Air Force Base", another name for GFA is "Malmstrom AFB".
- Following World War II, Great Falls Army Air Base played an important role in US defense during the Cold War era.
- Originally named Great Falls Army Air Base, later Great Falls Air Force Base, the facility was renamed Malmstrom Air Force Base on 1 October 1955 in honor of Colonel Einar Axel Malmstrom.
- Malmstrom Air Force Base traces its beginnings back to 1939 when World War II broke out in Europe.
- The 801st Radar Squadron was inactivated on 31 December 1969 due to budget reductions.
- The furthest airport from Malmstrom Air Force Base (GFA) is Sir Gaëtan Duval Airport (RRG), which is located 10,495 miles (16,891 kilometers) away in Rodrigues Island, Mauritius.
Facts about Cardiff Airport (CWL):
- 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.
- In addition to being known as "Cardiff Airport", another name for CWL is "Maes Awyr Caerdydd".
- Cardiff Airport handled 1,072,062 passengers last year.
- Cardiff Airport (CWL) currently has only 1 runway.
- 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.
- The closest airport to Cardiff Airport (CWL) is MoD St Athan (DGX), which is located only 4 miles (6 kilometers) W of CWL.
- 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.
- 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 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 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.