Nonstop flight route between Haarlemmermeer, Netherlands and Hambantota, Sri Lanka:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Amsterdam Airport Schiphol (AMS), Haarlemmermeer, Netherlands and Mattala Rajapaksa International Airport (HRI), Hambantota, Sri Lanka would travel a Great Circle distance of 5,300 miles (or 8,529 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 Amsterdam Airport Schiphol 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 Amsterdam Airport Schiphol 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:

Arrival Airport Information:

Facts about Amsterdam Airport Schiphol (AMS):

• The closest airport to Amsterdam Airport Schiphol (AMS) is Valkenburg Naval Air Base (LID), which is located only 18 miles (28 kilometers) WSW of AMS.
• Schiphol is equipped with 18 double jetway gates in preparation for airlines introducing the Airbus A380.
• Departure Hall 2 consists of Piers D and E.
• For aviation enthusiasts, Amsterdam Airport Schiphol has a large rooftop viewing area, called the Panoramaterras.
• In addition to being known as "Amsterdam Airport Schiphol", another name for AMS is "Luchthaven Schiphol".
• Because of Amsterdam Airport Schiphol's relatively low elevation of -11 feet, planes can take off or land at Amsterdam Airport Schiphol 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.
• Schiphol is an important European airport, ranking as Europe's 4th busiest and the world's 14th busiest by total passenger traffic in 2013.
• Amsterdam Airport Schiphol (AMS) has 6 runways.
• The furthest airport from Amsterdam Airport Schiphol (AMS) is Chatham Islands (CHT), which is located 11,847 miles (19,066 kilometers) away in Waitangi, Chatham Islands, New Zealand.
• Because of intense traffic and high landing fees, some low cost carriers decided to move their flights to smaller airports, such as Rotterdam The Hague Airport and Eindhoven Airport.

Facts about Mattala Rajapaksa International Airport (HRI):

• 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 AFRS will be the facilities to cater Category 10 requirements.
• On October 2012, the Super King 20 Test Aircraft, which belongs to the Pakistan Civil Aviation Department and features a dual engine, landed on the new runway to test the newly constructed runway and the instrumentation.
• A new aerodrome designed to meet the ICAO specification for code 4F is to be built.
• On 16 October 2012, a Hawker Beechcraft B200 King Air registered AP-CAB, belonging to the Civil Aviation Authority of Pakistan landed on runway 23 at 12.38 PM local time becoming the first aircraft to land at the new airport as requested by the Rajapaksa regime.
• It was initially planned to build an international airport serving the south of Sri Lanka at Weerawila, but the plans were scrapped due to environmental concerns.
• The closest airport to Mattala Rajapaksa International Airport (HRI) is Weerawila Airport (WRZ), which is located only 8 miles (13 kilometers) ESE of HRI.
• Mattala Rajapaksa International Airport (HRI) currently has only 1 runway.
• 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.
• In addition to being known as "Mattala Rajapaksa International Airport", another name for HRI is "මත්තල රාජපක්ෂ ජාත්‍යන්තර ගුවන්තොටුපළமத்தல ராஜபக்ஷ பன்னாட்டு விமான நிலையம்".
• It handled nearly 6000 passengers in the first two months after opening.
• On 24 January 2013, Sri Lanka Minister of Civil Aviation Piyankara Jayaratne said in parliament that the airport would be declared open on 18 March 2013.