Nonstop flight route between Bedford, Indiana, United States and Ratmalana, Sri Lanka:
Departure Airport:

Arrival Airport:

Distance from BFR to RML:
Share this route:
Jump to:
- About this route
- BFR Airport Information
- RML Airport Information
- Facts about BFR
- Facts about RML
- Map of Nearest Airports to BFR
- List of Nearest Airports to BFR
- Map of Furthest Airports from BFR
- List of Furthest Airports from BFR
- Map of Nearest Airports to RML
- List of Nearest Airports to RML
- Map of Furthest Airports from RML
- List of Furthest Airports from RML
About this route:
A direct, nonstop flight between Virgil I. Grissom Municipal Airport (BFR), Bedford, Indiana, United States and Ratmalana Airport (RML), Ratmalana, Sri Lanka would travel a Great Circle distance of 9,162 miles (or 14,745 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 Virgil I. Grissom Municipal Airport and Ratmalana 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 Virgil I. Grissom Municipal Airport and Ratmalana Airport. You'll see that it will travel the same route of the red line on this map!
Departure Airport Information:
IATA / ICAO Codes: | BFR / KBFR |
Airport Name: | Virgil I. Grissom Municipal Airport |
Location: | Bedford, Indiana, United States |
GPS Coordinates: | 38°50'24"N by 86°26'43"W |
Area Served: | Bedford, Indiana |
Operator/Owner: | Lawrence County BOAC |
Airport Type: | Public |
Elevation: | 728 feet (222 meters) |
# of Runways: | 2 |
View all routes: | Routes from BFR |
More Information: | BFR Maps & Info |
Arrival Airport Information:
IATA / ICAO Codes: | RML / VCCC |
Airport Names: |
|
Location: | Ratmalana, Sri Lanka |
GPS Coordinates: | 6°49'19"N by 79°53'10"E |
Area Served: | Colombo |
Operator/Owner: | Sri Lankan Government |
Airport Type: | Public / Military |
Elevation: | 16 feet (5 meters) |
# of Runways: | 1 |
View all routes: | Routes from RML |
More Information: | RML Maps & Info |
Facts about Virgil I. Grissom Municipal Airport (BFR):
- Because of Virgil I. Grissom Municipal Airport's relatively low elevation of 728 feet, planes can take off or land at Virgil I. Grissom Municipal 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 Virgil I. Grissom Municipal Airport (BFR) is Monroe County Airport (BMG), which is located 23 miles (37 kilometers) NNW of BFR.
- The furthest airport from Virgil I. Grissom Municipal Airport (BFR) is Margaret River Airport (MGV), which is located 11,195 miles (18,016 kilometers) away in Margaret River, Western Australia, Australia.
- Virgil I. Grissom Municipal Airport (BFR) has 2 runways.
Facts about Ratmalana Airport (RML):
- Ratmalana Airport (RML) currently has only 1 runway.
- The furthest airport from Ratmalana Airport (RML) is Seymour Airport (GPS), which is located 11,628 miles (18,713 kilometers) away in Baltra Island, Galápagos Islands, Ecuador.
- In addition to being known as "Ratmalana Airport", another name for RML is "රත්මලාන ගුවන්තොටුපළஇரத்மலானை விமான நிலைய".
- On 11 August 1952, 3 months after the inaugural service of a passenger jet aircraft, BOAC began its Comet service between Colombo and London.
- In the 1950s, BOAC flew Canadair Argonauts from Ratmalana to London.
- The closest airport to Ratmalana Airport (RML) is Bandaranaike International Airport (CMB), which is located 25 miles (40 kilometers) N of RML.
- In 1964, the government decided to build the new Bandaranaike International Airport north of the city, to replace Ratmalana.
- Because of Ratmalana Airport's relatively low elevation of 16 feet, planes can take off or land at Ratmalana 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.