Nonstop flight route between Arlington County, Virginia (near Washington, D.C.), United States and Galena, Alaska, United States:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport (DCA), Arlington County, Virginia (near Washington, D.C.), United States and Edward G. Pitka Sr. Airport (GAL), Galena, Alaska, United States would travel a Great Circle distance of 3,543 miles (or 5,701 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 Edward G. Pitka Sr. 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 Edward G. Pitka Sr. 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):

• 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.
• 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.
• The Washington National Airport Terminal and South Hangar Line were listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1997.
• Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport is a public airport 3 miles south of downtown Washington, D.C., in Arlington County, Virginia.
• 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.
• Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport (DCA) has 3 runways.
• On March 23, 2011, the air traffic control supervisor on duty reportedly fell asleep during the night shift.
• 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.
• 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.
• After the attacks, the airport was closed for several weeks, and security was tightened when it reopened.

Facts about Edward G. Pitka Sr. Airport (GAL):

• Edward G. Pitka Sr. Airport (GAL) has 2 runways.
• The closest airport to Edward G. Pitka Sr. Airport (GAL) is Koyukuk Airport (KYU), which is located 25 miles (41 kilometers) WNW of GAL.
• In addition to being known as "Edward G. Pitka Sr. Airport", another name for GAL is "(former Galena Air Force Base)".
• Because of Edward G. Pitka Sr. Airport's relatively low elevation of 153 feet, planes can take off or land at Edward G. Pitka Sr. 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 Edward G. Pitka Sr. Airport (GAL) is George Airport (GRJ), which is located 10,313 miles (16,598 kilometers) away in George, South Africa.
• The airport also sports a ski-jump takeoff ramp at one end and provisions for arresting gear at the other, a leftover from the Cold War years as Galena Air Force Base, as tactical aircraft required more landing and takeoff space than was available on the runway.
• As Galena Airport, it was used as a military transport base during World War II, facilitating the transit of Lend-Lease aircraft to the Soviet Union.