Nonstop flight route between Eastleigh (near Southampton), England, United Kingdom and Arlington County, Virginia (near Washington, D.C.), United States:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Southampton Airport (SOU), Eastleigh (near Southampton), England, United Kingdom and Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport (DCA), Arlington County, Virginia (near Washington, D.C.), United States would travel a Great Circle distance of 3,629 miles (or 5,840 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 Southampton Airport and Ronald Reagan Washington National 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 Southampton Airport and Ronald Reagan Washington National 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 Southampton Airport (SOU):

• The airport handled 1,722,758 passengers during 2013, a 1.7% increase compared with 2012, making it the 18th busiest airport in the UK.
• Southampton Airport handled 1,722,758 passengers last year.
• Southampton Airport (SOU) currently has only 1 runway.
• In 1936 Supermarine opened a test flight facility on the site, followed shortly thereafter by the opening of the Cunliffe-Owen Aircraft factory on the southern end of the runway.
• The closest airport to Southampton Airport (SOU) is Lasham Airfield (QLA), which is located 22 miles (35 kilometers) NE of SOU.
• On 5 March 2006 five restored Spitfires took off from Southampton Airport to commemorate the 70th anniversary of the first test flight of the Spitfire.
• The airport is also located close to the junction between the M3 motorway and M27 motorway, giving easy road access to Southampton, Winchester, Bournemouth, Poole, Portsmouth and places between.
• The furthest airport from Southampton Airport (SOU) is Dunedin International Airport (DUD), which is located 11,918 miles (19,179 kilometers) away in Dunedin, Otago, New Zealand.
• Because of Southampton Airport's relatively low elevation of 44 feet, planes can take off or land at Southampton 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 Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport (DCA):

• 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.
• 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.
• Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport (DCA) has 3 runways.
• With the addition of more flights and limited space in the aging main terminal, the airport began an extensive renovation and expansion in the 1990s.
• 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 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.