Nonstop flight route between Arlington County, Virginia (near Washington, D.C.), United States and Anchorage, Alaska, United States:
Departure Airport:
Arrival Airport:
Distance from DCA to MRI:
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- About this route
- DCA Airport Information
- MRI Airport Information
- Facts about DCA
- Facts about MRI
- 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 MRI
- List of Nearest Airports to MRI
- Map of Furthest Airports from MRI
- List of Furthest Airports from MRI
About this route:
A direct, nonstop flight between Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport (DCA), Arlington County, Virginia (near Washington, D.C.), United States and Merrill Field (MRI), Anchorage, Alaska, United States would travel a Great Circle distance of 3,361 miles (or 5,410 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 Merrill Field, 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 Merrill Field. 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: | MRI / PAMR |
Airport Name: | Merrill Field |
Location: | Anchorage, Alaska, United States |
GPS Coordinates: | 61°12'48"N by 149°50'39"W |
Operator/Owner: | Municipality of Anchorage |
Airport Type: | Public |
Elevation: | 137 feet (42 meters) |
# of Runways: | 3 |
View all routes: | Routes from MRI |
More Information: | MRI Maps & Info |
Facts about Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport (DCA):
- Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport is a public airport 3 miles south of downtown Washington, D.C., in Arlington County, Virginia.
- 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.
- Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport (DCA) has 3 runways.
- 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.
- 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.
- Despite the expansions, efforts have been made to restrict the growth of the airport.
- Terminal A opened in 1941 and was expanded in 1955 to accommodate more passengers and airlines.
- 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.
Facts about Merrill Field (MRI):
- Merrill Field is a public-use general aviation airport located one mile east of downtown Anchorage in the U.S.
- Merrill Field (MRI) has 3 runways.
- The closest airport to Merrill Field (MRI) is Elmendorf Air Force Base (EDF), which is located only 3 miles (5 kilometers) NNE of MRI.
- The furthest airport from Merrill Field (MRI) is Port Elizabeth International Airport (PLZ), which is located 10,545 miles (16,970 kilometers) away in Port Elizabeth, South Africa.
- For 12-month period ending August 5, 2004, the airport had 191,550 aircraft operations, an average of 524 per day, 100% of which were general aviation.
- Because of Merrill Field's relatively low elevation of 137 feet, planes can take off or land at Merrill Field 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.