Nonstop flight route between Arlington County, Virginia (near Washington, D.C.), United States and Chicago, Illinois, United States:
Departure Airport:
Arrival Airport:
Distance from DCA to MDW:
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- About this route
- DCA Airport Information
- MDW Airport Information
- Facts about DCA
- Facts about MDW
- 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 MDW
- List of Nearest Airports to MDW
- Map of Furthest Airports from MDW
- List of Furthest Airports from MDW
About this route:
A direct, nonstop flight between Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport (DCA), Arlington County, Virginia (near Washington, D.C.), United States and Chicago Midway International Airport (MDW), Chicago, Illinois, United States would travel a Great Circle distance of 599 miles (or 964 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 relatively short distance between Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport and Chicago Midway International Airport, the route shown on this map most likely still appears to be a straight line.
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: | MDW / KMDW |
Airport Name: | Chicago Midway International Airport |
Location: | Chicago, Illinois, United States |
GPS Coordinates: | 41°47'9"N by 87°45'8"W |
Area Served: | Chicago, Illinois, US |
Operator/Owner: | City of Chicago |
Airport Type: | Public |
Elevation: | 620 feet (189 meters) |
# of Runways: | 5 |
View all routes: | Routes from MDW |
More Information: | MDW 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.
- When visibility and ceiling are below minimums for the River Visual and southerly winds restrict northbound runway operations, aircraft fly an offset localizer or GPS approach to Runway 19, again involving a final turn moments before touchdown, or they fly a VOR or GPS approach to either of the shorter Runways 15 and 22, which are marginally long enough for airline jets.
- Given Reagan National Airport's proximity to the city and high-security facilities, Reagan National has extra security precautions required by the Washington Air Defense Identification Zone that have been in place since the airport began operations.
- 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 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.
- The airport opened June 16, 1941.
- Metrobus provides service on weekend mornings before the Metro station opens or during any disruptions to regular Metro service.
- Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport (DCA) has 3 runways.
Facts about Chicago Midway International Airport (MDW):
- In 1979 Midway Airlines began operations, the first to do so after the Airline Deregulation Act of 1978.
- Chicago Midway International Airport (MDW) has 5 runways.
- In 1996, after failing to get his Lake Calumet Airport and having received harsh criticism for the idea of turning the airport into an industrial park, Chicago Mayor Richard M.
- More construction was funded in part by $1 million from the Works Progress Administration.
- On April 20, 2009, a $2.5 billion deal to privatize the airport via a 99-year lease fell through when the consortium could not put together financing.
- The closest airport to Chicago Midway International Airport (MDW) is Chicago O'Hare International Airport (ORD), which is located only 15 miles (25 kilometers) NNW of MDW.
- Because of Chicago Midway International Airport's relatively low elevation of 620 feet, planes can take off or land at Chicago Midway 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 furthest airport from Chicago Midway International Airport (MDW) is Margaret River Airport (MGV), which is located 11,083 miles (17,836 kilometers) away in Margaret River, Western Australia, Australia.
- Because Midway is surrounded by buildings and other development, the landing thresholds of the runways are displaced to provide a proper obstacle clearance.