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

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport (DCA), Arlington County, Virginia (near Washington, D.C.), United States and Norfolk Island Airport (NLK), Norfolk Island, Australia would travel a Great Circle distance of 8,729 miles (or 14,048 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 Norfolk Island 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 Norfolk Island 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):

• 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.
• Until 1999, Runways 1/19 and 4/22 were designated 18/36 and 3/21.
• 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 2013, Reagan National Airport handled 20,415,085 passengers, which was a new record.
• 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.
• The airport is southwest of Washington, D.C.
• 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 Norfolk Island Airport (NLK):

• Norfolk Island Airport (NLK) has 2 runways.
• Because of Norfolk Island Airport's relatively low elevation of 371 feet, planes can take off or land at Norfolk Island 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 Norfolk Island Airport (NLK) is Nouméa Magenta Airport (GEA), which is located 478 miles (769 kilometers) NNW of NLK.
• These distances are within the range of many light aircraft when fitted with long range tanks, while the direct distance without using Norfolk Island as a stepping stone, is usually beyond their capabilities.
• In addition to being known as "Norfolk Island Airport", another name for NLK is "YSNF".
• The furthest airport from Norfolk Island Airport (NLK) is Tan Tan Airport (TTA), which is nearly antipodal to Norfolk Island Airport (meaning Norfolk Island Airport is almost on the exact opposite side of the Earth from Tan Tan Airport), and is located 12,369 miles (19,905 kilometers) away in Tan-Tan, Morocco.
• Norfolk Island Airport handled 57,758 passengers last year.
• From New Caledonia other Pacific Islands such as Vanuatu and Fiji are within range and can be used as further 'stepping stones' to the other South Pacific and North Pacific destinations.
• The airstrip was built during World War II as a defensive measure to counter feared Japanese operations in the South Pacific.