Nonstop flight route between Washington, D.C. / Virginia, United States and Lausanne, Switzerland:
Departure Airport:

Arrival Airport:

Distance from IAD to QLS:
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- About this route
- IAD Airport Information
- QLS Airport Information
- Facts about IAD
- Facts about QLS
- Map of Nearest Airports to IAD
- List of Nearest Airports to IAD
- Map of Furthest Airports from IAD
- List of Furthest Airports from IAD
- Map of Nearest Airports to QLS
- List of Nearest Airports to QLS
- Map of Furthest Airports from QLS
- List of Furthest Airports from QLS
About this route:
A direct, nonstop flight between Washington Dulles International Airport (IAD), Washington, D.C. / Virginia, United States and Lausanne Airport (QLS), Lausanne, Switzerland would travel a Great Circle distance of 4,093 miles (or 6,587 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 Washington Dulles International Airport and Lausanne 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 Washington Dulles International Airport and Lausanne Airport. You'll see that it will travel the same route of the red line on this map!
Departure Airport Information:
IATA / ICAO Codes: | IAD / KIAD |
Airport Name: | Washington Dulles International Airport |
Location: | Washington, D.C. / Virginia, United States |
GPS Coordinates: | 38°56'39"N by 77°27'20"W |
Area Served: | Washington metropolitan area |
Airport Type: | Public |
Elevation: | 313 feet (95 meters) |
# of Runways: | 5 |
View all routes: | Routes from IAD |
More Information: | IAD Maps & Info |
Arrival Airport Information:
IATA / ICAO Codes: | QLS / LSGL |
Airport Names: |
|
Location: | Lausanne, Switzerland |
GPS Coordinates: | 46°32'43"N by 6°37'0"E |
Area Served: | Lausanne, Switzerland |
Elevation: | 2040 feet (622 meters) |
# of Runways: | 1 |
View all routes: | Routes from QLS |
More Information: | QLS Maps & Info |
Facts about Washington Dulles International Airport (IAD):
- Because of Washington Dulles International Airport's relatively low elevation of 313 feet, planes can take off or land at Washington Dulles 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 Washington Dulles International Airport (IAD) is Leesburg Executive Airport (JYO), which is located only 11 miles (17 kilometers) NNW of IAD.
- Washington Dulles International Airport is a public airport in Dulles, Virginia, 26 miles west of downtown Washington, D.C.
- The main terminal was extended in 1996 to 1,240 feet —Saarinen's original design length—which was slightly more than double its originally constructed length of 600 feet.
- Construction is now underway to connect the airport to Washington via the Silver Line of the Washington Metro.
- A new train system, dubbed AeroTrain and developed by Mitsubishi, began in 2010 to transport passengers between the concourses and the main terminal.
- Washington Dulles International Airport (IAD) has 5 runways.
- The C and D concourses, completed in 1983 and designed by Hellmuth, Obata and Kassabaum, were originally designed as a temporary base for United Airlines, which began hub operations at the airport in 1985.
- The furthest airport from Washington Dulles International Airport (IAD) is Margaret River Airport (MGV), which is located 11,659 miles (18,763 kilometers) away in Margaret River, Western Australia, Australia.
Facts about Lausanne Airport (QLS):
- The closest airport to Lausanne Airport (QLS) is Annemasse Aerodrome (QNJ), which is located 30 miles (48 kilometers) SW of QLS.
- In addition to being known as "Lausanne Airport", another name for QLS is "Aéroport de Lausanne-Blécherette".
- Lausanne Airport (QLS) currently has only 1 runway.
- The furthest airport from Lausanne Airport (QLS) is Chatham Islands (CHT), which is nearly antipodal to Lausanne Airport (meaning Lausanne Airport is almost on the exact opposite side of the Earth from Chatham Islands), and is located 12,196 miles (19,627 kilometers) away in Waitangi, Chatham Islands, New Zealand.
- In May 2000 the grass runway was replaced by a paved one.