Nonstop flight route between Birmingham, England, United Kingdom and Hambantota, Sri Lanka:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Birmingham Airport (BHX), Birmingham, 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 Birmingham Airport 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 Birmingham Airport 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 Birmingham Airport (BHX):

• Birmingham Airport handled 9,120,201 passengers last year.
• Although initial plans for a second runway were scrapped, this is now firmly back on the airports agenda ahead of the report into Britains aviation strategy being published.
• The furthest airport from Birmingham Airport (BHX) is Dunedin International Airport (DUD), which is located 11,858 miles (19,084 kilometers) away in Dunedin, Otago, New Zealand.
• Birmingham handled a record 9.6 million passengers in 2008, and 9.1 million passengers used the airport in 2013, making Birmingham the seventh busiest UK airport.
• Because of Birmingham Airport's relatively low elevation of 341 feet, planes can take off or land at Birmingham 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.
• Birmingham Airport (BHX) currently has only 1 runway.
• The runway extension will be officially opened on 22 July 2014 and will be marked by a series of charter flights operated by China Southern Airlines to Beijing.
• Birmingham Airport, formerly Birmingham International Airport is an airport located 5.5 nautical miles east southeast of Birmingham city centre, at Bickenhill in the Metropolitan Borough of Solihull within the West Midlands, England.
• During the post-war years, public events, such as air fairs and air races were held on the site.
• The closest airport to Birmingham Airport (BHX) is Coventry Airport (CVT), which is located only 13 miles (20 kilometers) ESE of BHX.

Facts about Mattala Rajapaksa International Airport (HRI):

• The closest airport to Mattala Rajapaksa International Airport (HRI) is Weerawila Airport (WRZ), which is located only 8 miles (13 kilometers) ESE of HRI.
• 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.
• 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.
• 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.
• Mattala Rajapaksa International Airport (HRI) currently has only 1 runway.
• In addition to being known as "Mattala Rajapaksa International Airport", another name for HRI is "මත්තල රාජපක්ෂ ජාත්‍යන්තර ගුවන්තොටුපළமத்தல ராஜபக்ஷ பன்னாட்டு விமான நிலையம்".
• 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 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.