Nonstop flight route between Arlington County, Virginia (near Washington, D.C.), United States and Nairobi, Kenya:
Departure Airport:

Arrival Airport:

Distance from DCA to WIL:
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- About this route
- DCA Airport Information
- WIL Airport Information
- Facts about DCA
- Facts about WIL
- 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 WIL
- List of Nearest Airports to WIL
- Map of Furthest Airports from WIL
- List of Furthest Airports from WIL
About this route:
A direct, nonstop flight between Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport (DCA), Arlington County, Virginia (near Washington, D.C.), United States and Wilson Airport (WIL), Nairobi, Kenya would travel a Great Circle distance of 7,547 miles (or 12,145 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 Wilson 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 Wilson 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: | WIL / HKNW |
Airport Name: | Wilson Airport |
Location: | Nairobi, Kenya |
GPS Coordinates: | 1°19'12"S by 36°48'53"E |
Area Served: | Nairobi |
Operator/Owner: | Kenya Airports Authority |
Airport Type: | Public, Civilian |
Elevation: | 5546 feet (1,690 meters) |
# of Runways: | 2 |
View all routes: | Routes from WIL |
More Information: | WIL Maps & Info |
Facts about Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport (DCA):
- Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport (DCA) has 3 runways.
- Terminals B and C opened in 1997, replacing a collection of airline-specific terminals built during the 1960s.
- Despite the expansions, efforts have been made to restrict the growth of the airport.
- 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.
- 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.
- 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.
- 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 Wilson Airport (WIL):
- Because of Wilson Airport's high elevation of 5,546 feet, planes must typically fly at a faster airspeed in order to takeoff or land at WIL. Combined with a high temperature, this could make WIL a "Hot & High" airport, where the air density is lower than it would otherwise be at sea level.
- In 2012 Kiss TV did a 15-minute report called dying Wilson.
- Wilson Airport (WIL) has 2 runways.
- This location is approximately 18 kilometres, by road, west of Jomo Kenyatta International Airport, the largest civilian airport in the country.
- The closest airport to Wilson Airport (WIL) is Jomo Kenyatta International Airport (NBO), which is located only 8 miles (12 kilometers) E of WIL.
- As a result of faster check-in times and fewer flight delays, as compared to Nairobi International Airport, Wilson Airport is commonly used by business executive aircraft for domestic and international travel.
- The furthest airport from Wilson Airport (WIL) is Atuona Airport (AUQ), which is located 11,619 miles (18,698 kilometers) away in Atuona, Marquesas Islands, French Polynesia.