Nonstop flight route between Arlington County, Virginia (near Washington, D.C.), United States and Shangri-La, Yunnan, China:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport (DCA), Arlington County, Virginia (near Washington, D.C.), United States and Dêqên Shangri-La Airport (DIG), Shangri-La, Yunnan, China would travel a Great Circle distance of 7,827 miles (or 12,597 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 Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport and Dêqên Shangri-La 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 Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport and Dêqên Shangri-La 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 Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport (DCA):

• Hoover Field, near the present site of the Pentagon, was the first major terminal to be developed in the Capital area, opening its doors in 1926.
• In 1999, Senator John McCain of Arizona introduced legislation to remove the 1,250-statute-mile restriction, infuriating some local residents concerned about noise and traffic from increased service by larger, long-haul aircraft.
• After the attacks, the airport was closed for several weeks, and security was tightened when it reopened.
• 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.
• Although the need for a better airport was acknowledged in 37 studies conducted between 1926 and 1938, there was a statutory prohibition against federal development of airports.
• Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport (DCA) has 3 runways.
• 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.
• 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.
• Prior to the September 11 attacks in 2001, the notable security measure was the southbound approach into the airport.
• 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.

Facts about Dêqên Shangri-La Airport (DIG):

• Because of Dêqên Shangri-La Airport's high elevation of 10,761 feet, planes must typically fly at a faster airspeed in order to takeoff or land at DIG. Combined with a high temperature, this could make DIG a "Hot & High" airport, where the air density is lower than it would otherwise be at sea level.
• Dêqên Shangri-La Airport (DIG) currently has only 1 runway.
• The closest airport to Dêqên Shangri-La Airport (DIG) is Lijiang Sanyi Airport (LJG), which is located 85 miles (136 kilometers) SSE of DIG.
• In addition to being known as "Dêqên Shangri-La Airport", other names for DIG include "迪庆香格里拉机场" and "Díqìng Xiānggélǐlā Jīchǎng".
• The furthest airport from Dêqên Shangri-La Airport (DIG) is La Florida Airport (LSC), which is located 11,866 miles (19,096 kilometers) away in La Serena, Chile.