Nonstop flight route between Arlington County, Virginia (near Washington, D.C.), United States and Santander, Cantabria, Spain:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport (DCA), Arlington County, Virginia (near Washington, D.C.), United States and Santander Airport (SDR), Santander, Cantabria, Spain would travel a Great Circle distance of 3,698 miles (or 5,951 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 Santander 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 Santander 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):

• Reagan National Airport has noise restrictions that are some of the most restrictive in the country.
• On March 23, 2011, the air traffic control supervisor on duty reportedly fell asleep during the night shift.
• 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.
• The runway layout has changed little, except for the 1956 closure of a fourth, east–west runway now used for taxiing and aircraft parking.
• After the attacks, the airport was closed for several weeks, and security was tightened when it reopened.
• 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.
• 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.
• 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.

Facts about Santander Airport (SDR):

• Because of Santander Airport's relatively low elevation of 16 feet, planes can take off or land at Santander 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 furthest airport from Santander Airport (SDR) is Kaikoura Aerodrome (KBZ), which is nearly antipodal to Santander Airport (meaning Santander Airport is almost on the exact opposite side of the Earth from Kaikoura Aerodrome), and is located 12,289 miles (19,777 kilometers) away in Kaikoura, New Zealand.
• Santander Airport (SDR) currently has only 1 runway.
• The closest airport to Santander Airport (SDR) is Bilbao Airport (BIO), which is located 47 miles (75 kilometers) E of SDR.
• In addition to being known as "Santander Airport", other names for SDR include "Aeropuerto de Santander" and "Aeropuerto de Parayas".