Nonstop flight route between Arlington County, Virginia (near Washington, D.C.), United States and Medan, Indonesia:
Departure Airport:
Arrival Airport:
Distance from DCA to MES:
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- About this route
- DCA Airport Information
- MES Airport Information
- Facts about DCA
- Facts about MES
- 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 MES
- List of Nearest Airports to MES
- Map of Furthest Airports from MES
- List of Furthest Airports from MES
About this route:
A direct, nonstop flight between Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport (DCA), Arlington County, Virginia (near Washington, D.C.), United States and Polonia International Airport (MES), Medan, Indonesia would travel a Great Circle distance of 9,494 miles (or 15,279 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 Polonia 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 Polonia International Airport. You'll see that it will travel the same route of the red line on this map!
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: | MES / WIMM |
| Airport Names: |
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| Location: | Medan, Indonesia |
| GPS Coordinates: | 3°33'29"N by 98°40'18"E |
| Area Served: | Medan |
| Operator/Owner: | Government of Indonesia |
| Airport Type: | Military |
| Elevation: | 114 feet (35 meters) |
| View all routes: | Routes from MES |
| More Information: | MES Maps & Info |
Facts about Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport (DCA):
- 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 airport is southwest of Washington, D.C.
- 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.
- 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.
- Reagan National Airport has noise restrictions that are some of the most restrictive in the country.
- 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.
- 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.
- Terminal A opened in 1941 and was expanded in 1955 to accommodate more passengers and airlines.
- 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.
Facts about Polonia International Airport (MES):
- In addition to being known as "Polonia International Airport", other names for MES include "Bandar Udara Internasional Polonia" and "WIMK".
- The furthest airport from Polonia International Airport (MES) is Cap. FAP Pedro Canga Rodríguez Airport (TBP), which is nearly antipodal to Polonia International Airport (meaning Polonia International Airport is almost on the exact opposite side of the Earth from Cap. FAP Pedro Canga Rodríguez Airport), and is located 12,371 miles (19,910 kilometers) away in Tumbes, Peru.
- Until recently, the airport consisted of an international and domestic terminal.
- After the ferry flights were completed, all of the airport activity officially shifted to Kuala Namu International Airport.
- The airport's name is taken from the plantation area owned by a Pole, Baron Michalski in which it is situated.
- Because of Polonia International Airport's relatively low elevation of 114 feet, planes can take off or land at Polonia International 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 airport's last arrival is AirAsia from Bandung at 23:50 WIB.
- The airport is now closed to commercial aviation and replaced by Kuala Namu International Airport.
- The closest airport to Polonia International Airport (MES) is Kualanamu International Airport (KNO), which is located only 15 miles (24 kilometers) ENE of MES.
