Nonstop flight route between Arlington County, Virginia (near Washington, D.C.), United States and Bakersfield, California, United States:
Departure Airport:
Arrival Airport:
Distance from DCA to BFL:
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- About this route
- DCA Airport Information
- BFL Airport Information
- Facts about DCA
- Facts about BFL
- Map of Nearest Airports to DCA
- List of Nearest Airports to DCA
- Map of Furthest Airports from DCA
- List of Furthest Airports from DCA
- Map of Nearest Airports to BFL
- List of Nearest Airports to BFL
- Map of Furthest Airports from BFL
- List of Furthest Airports from BFL
About this route:
A direct, nonstop flight between Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport (DCA), Arlington County, Virginia (near Washington, D.C.), United States and Meadows Field (BFL), Bakersfield, California, United States would travel a Great Circle distance of 2,306 miles (or 3,711 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 relatively short distance between Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport and Meadows Field, the route shown on this map most likely still appears to be a straight line.
Departure Airport Information:
| IATA / ICAO Codes: | DCA / KDCA |
| Airport Name: | Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport |
| Location: | Arlington County, Virginia (near Washington, D.C.), United States |
| GPS Coordinates: | 38°51'7"N by 77°2'16"W |
| Area Served: | Washington Metropolitan Area |
| Operator/Owner: | Metropolitan Washington Airports Authority |
| Airport Type: | Public |
| Elevation: | 15 feet (5 meters) |
| # of Runways: | 3 |
| View all routes: | Routes from DCA |
| More Information: | DCA Maps & Info |
Arrival Airport Information:
| IATA / ICAO Codes: | BFL / KBFL |
| Airport Names: |
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| Location: | Bakersfield, California, United States |
| GPS Coordinates: | 35°26'2"N by 119°3'28"W |
| Area Served: | Greater Bakersfield metropolitan area |
| Operator/Owner: | Kern County |
| Airport Type: | Public |
| Elevation: | 510 feet (155 meters) |
| # of Runways: | 2 |
| View all routes: | Routes from BFL |
| More Information: | BFL Maps & Info |
Facts about Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport (DCA):
- Because of Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport's relatively low elevation of 15 feet, planes can take off or land at Ronald Reagan Washington National 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.
- Other than 40 slot exemptions, flights into and out of DCA are not allowed to exceed 1,250 statute miles in any direction nonstop, in an effort to send air traffic to the larger but more distant Washington Dulles International Airport.
- Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport (DCA) has 3 runways.
- The furthest airport from Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport (DCA) is Margaret River Airport (MGV), which is located 11,682 miles (18,800 kilometers) away in Margaret River, Western Australia, Australia.
- Given Reagan National Airport's proximity to the city and high-security facilities, Reagan National has extra security precautions required by the Washington Air Defense Identification Zone that have been in place since the airport began operations.
- The closest airport to Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport (DCA) is Bolling Air Force Base (BOF), which is located only 1 miles (2 kilometers) ESE of DCA.
- Despite the expansions, efforts have been made to restrict the growth of the airport.
- When visibility and ceiling are below minimums for the River Visual and southerly winds restrict northbound runway operations, aircraft fly an offset localizer or GPS approach to Runway 19, again involving a final turn moments before touchdown, or they fly a VOR or GPS approach to either of the shorter Runways 15 and 22, which are marginally long enough for airline jets.
Facts about Meadows Field (BFL):
- The airport saw increased air service during the 1950s and 1960s.
- In December 1944 the 481st NFOTG was inactivated as part of an AAF reorganization.
- Meadows Field (BFL) has 2 runways.
- The terminal was constructed in 1957, and originally served all domestic flights.
- Rental cars are only available at the Domestic Terminal.
- Service was expensive compared to nearby airports, and normally ran during inconvenient times.
- All current airline flights from Meadows Field are on regional jets or turbo-props.
- The closest airport to Meadows Field (BFL) is Shafter Airport (MIT), which is located only 9 miles (15 kilometers) WNW of BFL.
- The furthest airport from Meadows Field (BFL) is Pierrefonds Airport (ZSE), which is located 11,406 miles (18,356 kilometers) away in Saint-Pierre, Réunion.
- Because of Meadows Field's relatively low elevation of 510 feet, planes can take off or land at Meadows Field 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.
- In addition to being known as "Meadows Field", another name for BFL is "Kern County Airport No. 1".
