Nonstop flight route between Arlington County, Virginia (near Washington, D.C.), United States and Graciosa Island, Azores, Portugal:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport (DCA), Arlington County, Virginia (near Washington, D.C.), United States and Graciosa Airport (GRW), Graciosa Island, Azores, Portugal would travel a Great Circle distance of 2,600 miles (or 4,184 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 Graciosa 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 Graciosa 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 1984 Secretary of Transportation Elizabeth Dole appointed a commission to study transferring National and Dulles Airports from the Federal Aviation Administration to a local entity, which could use airport revenues to finance improvements.
• 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.
• 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.
• Reagan National Airport is subject to a federally mandated perimeter limitation and may not accommodate nonstop flights to or from cities beyond 1,250-statute-mile, with limited exceptions.
• Terminal A opened in 1941 and was expanded in 1955 to accommodate more passengers and airlines.
• On March 23, 2011, the air traffic control supervisor on duty reportedly fell asleep during the night shift.
• 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.
• Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport (DCA) has 3 runways.

Facts about Graciosa Airport (GRW):

• Graciosa Airport (GRW) currently has only 1 runway.
• Because of Graciosa Airport's relatively low elevation of 85 feet, planes can take off or land at Graciosa 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 Graciosa Airport (GRW) is Merimbula Airport (MIM), which is nearly antipodal to Graciosa Airport (meaning Graciosa Airport is almost on the exact opposite side of the Earth from Merimbula Airport), and is located 12,248 miles (19,712 kilometers) away in Merimbula, New South Wales, Australia.
• The closest airport to Graciosa Airport (GRW) is Pico Airport (PIX), which is located 43 miles (70 kilometers) SSW of GRW.