Nonstop flight route between Fairford, England, United Kingdom and Hambantota, Sri Lanka:
Departure Airport:
Arrival Airport:
Distance from FFD to HRI:
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- About this route
- FFD Airport Information
- HRI Airport Information
- Facts about FFD
- Facts about HRI
- Map of Nearest Airports to FFD
- List of Nearest Airports to FFD
- Map of Furthest Airports from FFD
- List of Furthest Airports from FFD
- Map of Nearest Airports to HRI
- List of Nearest Airports to HRI
- Map of Furthest Airports from HRI
- List of Furthest Airports from HRI
About this route:
A direct, nonstop flight between RAF Fairford (FFD), Fairford, England, United Kingdom and Mattala Rajapaksa International Airport (HRI), Hambantota, Sri Lanka would travel a Great Circle distance of 5,574 miles (or 8,971 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 RAF Fairford and Mattala Rajapaksa International 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 RAF Fairford and Mattala Rajapaksa International Airport. You'll see that it will travel the same route of the red line on this map!
Departure Airport Information:
IATA / ICAO Codes: | FFD / EGVA |
Airport Name: | RAF Fairford |
Location: | Fairford, England, United Kingdom |
GPS Coordinates: | 51°40'55"N by 1°47'24"W |
Operator/Owner: | Ministry of Defence |
View all routes: | Routes from FFD |
More Information: | FFD Maps & Info |
Arrival Airport Information:
IATA / ICAO Codes: | HRI / VCRI |
Airport Names: |
|
Location: | Hambantota, Sri Lanka |
GPS Coordinates: | 6°17'20"N by 81°7'24"E |
Area Served: | Hambantota |
Operator/Owner: | Sri Lankan Government |
Airport Type: | Public |
Elevation: | 157 feet (48 meters) |
# of Runways: | 1 |
View all routes: | Routes from HRI |
More Information: | HRI Maps & Info |
Facts about RAF Fairford (FFD):
- In 1950, as a result of the beginning of the Cold War, the airfield was transferred to the U.S.
- KC-135 and KC-10 tankers deployed to Fairford supported Operation El Dorado Canyon against Libya in 1986.
- The closest airport to RAF Fairford (FFD) is RAF Brize Norton (BZZ), which is located only 10 miles (16 kilometers) ENE of FFD.
- Due to the deteriorating airfield facilities and its unique NATO heavy bomber mission, RAF Fairford underwent a $100 million upgrade of its runway and fuel systems in the largest NATO funded airfield construction project within a NATO country since the end of the Cold War.
- On 12 May 2005, USAFE activated the 501st Combat Support Wing, with headquarters at RAF Alconbury, to provide support to its GSUs in the United Kingdom.
- The furthest airport from RAF Fairford (FFD) is Dunedin International Airport (DUD), which is located 11,898 miles (19,148 kilometers) away in Dunedin, Otago, New Zealand.
Facts about Mattala Rajapaksa International Airport (HRI):
- This project will have two phases, with the first phase expected to be completed by the end of October 2012.
- The closest airport to Mattala Rajapaksa International Airport (HRI) is Weerawila Airport (WRZ), which is located only 8 miles (13 kilometers) ESE of HRI.
- In addition to being known as "Mattala Rajapaksa International Airport", another name for HRI is "මත්තල රාජපක්ෂ ජාත්යන්තර ගුවන්තොටුපළமத்தல ராஜபக்ஷ பன்னாட்டு விமான நிலையம்".
- The furthest airport from Mattala Rajapaksa International Airport (HRI) is Seymour Airport (GPS), which is located 11,719 miles (18,860 kilometers) away in Baltra Island, Galápagos Islands, Ecuador.
- The numbers given to the airport's sole runway is 05 and 23.
- Mattala Rajapaksa International Airport (HRI) currently has only 1 runway.
- Because of Mattala Rajapaksa International Airport's relatively low elevation of 157 feet, planes can take off or land at Mattala Rajapaksa 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 second stage of the HIA project the construction will begin in 2013 and is to be completed by 2016.
- Construction of phase one began on 27 November 2009 at Mattala.