Nonstop flight route between Arlington County, Virginia (near Washington, D.C.), United States and Penang, Malaysia:
Departure Airport:
Arrival Airport:
Distance from DCA to PEN:
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- About this route
- DCA Airport Information
- PEN Airport Information
- Facts about DCA
- Facts about PEN
- 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 PEN
- List of Nearest Airports to PEN
- Map of Furthest Airports from PEN
- List of Furthest Airports from PEN
About this route:
A direct, nonstop flight between Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport (DCA), Arlington County, Virginia (near Washington, D.C.), United States and Penang International Airport (PEN), Penang, Malaysia would travel a Great Circle distance of 9,382 miles (or 15,098 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 Penang 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 Penang 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: | PEN / WMKP |
| Airport Names: |
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| Location: | Penang, Malaysia |
| GPS Coordinates: | 5°17'49"N by 100°16'36"E |
| Area Served: | Penang, Malaysia |
| Operator/Owner: | Government of Malaysia |
| Airport Type: | Public |
| Elevation: | 11 feet (3 meters) |
| # of Runways: | 1 |
| View all routes: | Routes from PEN |
| More Information: | PEN Maps & Info |
Facts about Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport (DCA):
- 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.
- The runway layout has changed little, except for the 1956 closure of a fourth, east–west runway now used for taxiing and aircraft parking.
- Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport (DCA) has 3 runways.
- 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.
- 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.
- 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 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 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 March 23, 2011, the air traffic control supervisor on duty reportedly fell asleep during the night shift.
Facts about Penang International Airport (PEN):
- The furthest airport from Penang International Airport (PEN) is Cap. FAP Guillermo Concha Iberico International Airport (PIU), which is nearly antipodal to Penang International Airport (meaning Penang International Airport is almost on the exact opposite side of the Earth from Cap. FAP Guillermo Concha Iberico International Airport), and is located 12,375 miles (19,916 kilometers) away in Piura, Peru.
- In the Mini-budget announced by Prime Minister Najib Tun Razak, who is also the Finance Minister, on 10 March 2009, RM250 million has been allocated for the expansion of the airport.
- Penang International Airport (PEN) currently has only 1 runway.
- In 2013, over 5.48 million passengers used Penang International Airport.
- Reports in newspapers recently suggest that the new low-cost carrier terminal is approaching final stages.
- Because of Penang International Airport's relatively low elevation of 11 feet, planes can take off or land at Penang 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 closest airport to Penang International Airport (PEN) is RMAF Butterworth (BWH), which is located only 14 miles (23 kilometers) NE of PEN.
- Penang International Airport handled 5,487,751 passengers last year.
- In addition to being known as "Penang International Airport", another name for PEN is "Lapangan Terbang Antarabangsa Pulau Pinang".
