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

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport (DCA), Arlington County, Virginia (near Washington, D.C.), United States and Harare International Airport (HRE), Harare, Zimbabwe would travel a Great Circle distance of 7,950 miles (or 12,795 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 Harare International 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 Harare International 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 runway layout has changed little, except for the 1956 closure of a fourth, east–west runway now used for taxiing and aircraft parking.
• On March 23, 2011, the air traffic control supervisor on duty reportedly fell asleep during the night shift.
• The airport opened June 16, 1941.
• 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 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.
• 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.
• Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport (DCA) has 3 runways.
• Service to the airport's Metro station began in 1977.
• 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.
• On February 6, 1998 President Bill Clinton signed legislation changing the airport's name from Washington National Airport to Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport, to honor the former president on his 87th birthday.

Facts about Harare International Airport (HRE):

• Because of Harare International Airport's high elevation of 4,887 feet, planes must typically fly at a faster airspeed in order to takeoff or land at HRE. Combined with a high temperature, this could make HRE a "Hot & High" airport, where the air density is lower than it would otherwise be at sea level.
• The runway is used by both the civilian airport and the Air Force of Zimbabwe whose base is on the southern side of the runway.
• Commissioned in 1956 and officially opened on 5 February 1957, Salisbury Airport cost £924'000 to build.
• Harare International Airport (HRE) currently has only 1 runway.
• Harare International Airport handled 612,208 passengers last year.
• In 1951 the government announced that the airport would be developed as a joint user aerodrome for both civil aviation and the Southern Rhodesian Air Force.
• The furthest airport from Harare International Airport (HRE) is Hilo International Airport (ITO), which is nearly antipodal to Harare International Airport (meaning Harare International Airport is almost on the exact opposite side of the Earth from Hilo International Airport), and is located 12,017 miles (19,339 kilometers) away in Hilo, Hawaii, United States.
• The closest airport to Harare International Airport (HRE) is Mutare Airport (UTA), which is located 125 miles (201 kilometers) SE of HRE.
• Air Rhodesia established its headquarters at the airport in 1967, and since Independence in 1980, Air Rhodesia's successor, Air Zimbabwe, has maintained the status-quo with its head office, too, located at the airport.