Nonstop flight route between between Baltimore, Maryland and Washington, D.C., United States and Johannesburg, South Africa:
Departure Airport:

Arrival Airport:

Distance from BWI to QRA:
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- About this route
- BWI Airport Information
- QRA Airport Information
- Facts about BWI
- Facts about QRA
- Map of Nearest Airports to BWI
- List of Nearest Airports to BWI
- Map of Furthest Airports from BWI
- List of Furthest Airports from BWI
- Map of Nearest Airports to QRA
- List of Nearest Airports to QRA
- Map of Furthest Airports from QRA
- List of Furthest Airports from QRA
About this route:
A direct, nonstop flight between Baltimore/Washington International Thurgood Marshall Airport (BWI), between Baltimore, Maryland and Washington, D.C., United States and Rand Airport (QRA), Johannesburg, South Africa would travel a Great Circle distance of 8,098 miles (or 13,032 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 Baltimore/Washington International Thurgood Marshall Airport and Rand 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 Baltimore/Washington International Thurgood Marshall Airport and Rand Airport. You'll see that it will travel the same route of the red line on this map!
Departure Airport Information:
IATA / ICAO Codes: | BWI / KBWI |
Airport Name: | Baltimore/Washington International Thurgood Marshall Airport |
Location: | between Baltimore, Maryland and Washington, D.C., United States |
GPS Coordinates: | 39°10'31"N by 76°40'5"W |
Area Served: | Baltimore–Washington Metropolitan Area |
Operator/Owner: | Maryland Aviation Administration |
Airport Type: | Public |
Elevation: | 146 feet (45 meters) |
# of Runways: | 4 |
View all routes: | Routes from BWI |
More Information: | BWI Maps & Info |
Arrival Airport Information:
IATA / ICAO Codes: | QRA / FAGM |
Airport Name: | Rand Airport |
Location: | Johannesburg, South Africa |
GPS Coordinates: | 26°14'32"S by 28°9'3"E |
Operator/Owner: | Rand Airport Management Company (Pty) Ltd. |
Airport Type: | Public |
Elevation: | 5482 feet (1,671 meters) |
# of Runways: | 2 |
View all routes: | Routes from QRA |
More Information: | QRA Maps & Info |
Facts about Baltimore/Washington International Thurgood Marshall Airport (BWI):
- Baltimore/Washington International Thurgood Marshall Airport handled 22,391,785 passengers last year.
- Beginning in the 1980s, and later for much of the 1990s, BWI was a major hub for Piedmont Airlines and successor US Airways, but that airline's financial difficulties in the wake of the dot-com bust, the September 11 attacks, and intense low fare competition forced it to significantly reduce its presence at the airport.
- Baltimore/Washington International Thurgood Marshall Airport (BWI) has 4 runways.
- Because of Baltimore/Washington International Thurgood Marshall Airport's relatively low elevation of 146 feet, planes can take off or land at Baltimore/Washington International Thurgood Marshall 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 closest airport to Baltimore/Washington International Thurgood Marshall Airport (BWI) is Tipton Airport (FME), which is located only 8 miles (13 kilometers) SW of BWI.
- Planning for a new airport on 3,200 acres to serve the Baltimore/Washington area began just after the end of World War II.
- The passenger terminal renovation program was complete in 1979, the most dramatic work of the airport's modernization, which was designed by DMJM along with Peterson & Brickbauer.
- The furthest airport from Baltimore/Washington International Thurgood Marshall Airport (BWI) is Margaret River Airport (MGV), which is located 11,691 miles (18,814 kilometers) away in Margaret River, Western Australia, Australia.
Facts about Rand Airport (QRA):
- The furthest airport from Rand Airport (QRA) is Hana Airport (HNM), which is located 11,977 miles (19,275 kilometers) away in Hana, Hawaii, United States.
- South African Airways donated two Boeing 747s to the "South African Airways Museum Society" which are on display at the airport.
- Rand Airport is notorious for its hot and high conditions and relatively short runways.
- Because of Rand Airport's high elevation of 5,482 feet, planes must typically fly at a faster airspeed in order to takeoff or land at QRA. Combined with a high temperature, this could make QRA a "Hot & High" airport, where the air density is lower than it would otherwise be at sea level.
- Rand Airport (QRA) has 2 runways.
- de Havilland DH 104 Dove and Lockheed L18-08 Lodestar on view at the South African Airways Museum Society at Rand Airport.
- The recently upgraded fire station.
- The closest airport to Rand Airport (QRA) is O. R. Tambo International Airport (JNB), which is located only 9 miles (15 kilometers) NE of QRA.